Anglais Pour Psychologues-2022

Anglais
pour psychologues
Laurence MASSE
Rebecca SHANKLAND
Wendy PULLIN
Edward HUGHES
2e édition
entièrement revue et actualisée
© Dunod, 2022
11 rue Paul Bert – 92240 Malakoff
ISBN 978-2-10-084933-8
Liste des auteurs
Ouvrage réalisé sous la direction de :
Laurence MASSE Maître de conférences à l’Université Paris 8-Vincennes-
Saint-Denis.
Rebecca SHANKLAND Professeur à l’Université Lumière Lyon 2.
Wendy PULLIN Professeur à l’Université Concordia College d’Alberta
(Canada).
Edward HUGHES Professeur d’anglais au lycée La Salle, Pantin.
Avec la collaboration de :
Colette AGUERRE Maître de conférences HDR à l’Université François
Rabelais, Tours.
Philippe ARVERS Docteur en médecine, attaché en addictologie au
7e CMA (76e Antenne - Varces) et enseignant à l’Uni-
versité Inter-Ages du Dauphiné (UIAD).
Ingrid BANOVIC Professeur à l’Université de Rouen-Normandie.
Virginie BEAUCOUSIN Maître de conférences HDR à l’Université de Rouen-
Normandie.
Laurent BÈGUE Professeur à l’Université Grenoble-Alpes.
Marine BLONDEL Université de Reims-Champagne-Ardennes, psycho-
logue.
Céline BONNAIRE Maître de conférences HDR à l’Université Paris Cité.
Sandra BRUNO Maître de conférences à l’Université de Cergy Pontoise.
Catherine BUNGENER Professeur à l’Université Paris Cité.
Arnaud CARRÉ Maître de conférences HDR à l’Université Savoie-Mont-
Blanc, Chambéry.
© Dunod. Toute reproduction non autorisée est un délit.
François-Xavier CÉCILLON Chercheur associé à l’Université Lumière – Lyon 2.

Denis CORROYER Maître de conférences à l’Université Paris Cité.
Fanny D’AMBROSIO Docteur en psychologie, Université de Reims-
Champagne-Ardennes, psychologue.
Lionel DAGOT Maître de conférences HDR à l’Université Paris 8-
Vincennes-Saint-Denis.
Aurélie DOCTEUR Docteur en psychologie, Université Paris 8-Vincennes-
Saint-Denis, psychologue.
7
Anglais pour psychologues
Romain DUGRAVIER Pédopsychiatre à l’hôpital Saint-Anne de Paris.

Anna Rita GALIANO Maître de conférences HDR à l’Université Lumière-
Lyon 2.
Benjamin GALLAIS Professeur associé, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi
et Université de Sherbrooke (Canada).
Aurélie GAUCHET Professeur à l’Université Savoie-Mont-Blanc, Chambéry.
Édouard GENTAZ Professeur à l’Université de Genève (Suisse).
Daniel GILIBERT Professeur à l’Université Montpellier 3-Paul Valéry.
Fabien GIRANDOLA Professeur à l’Université de Provence (Aix-Marseille 1).
Sabine GUÉRAUD Maître de conférences HDR à l’Université Paris 8-
VincennesSaint-Denis.
Quentin HALLEZ Maître de conférences à l’Université Lumière-Lyon 2.
Mikkel HANSEN Maître de conférences à l’Université Paris 8-Vincennes-
Saint-Denis.
Robert-VINCENT JOULE Professeur à l’Université d’Aix Marseille.
Jean-Philippe LACHAUX Directeur de recherche à l’INSERM, Unité « Dynamique
Cérébrale et Cognition », Lyon.
Lubomir LAMY Professeur à l’Université Paris Cité.
Mélanie LEVASSEUR Professeur à l’Université de Sherbrooke (Canada).
Muriel LEZAK Professeur à l’Université de Portland (USA).
Antoine LUTZ Directeur de recherche à l’INSERM, Université Lyon 1.
Céline MANETTA Docteur en psychologie, chercheur chez IFF Paris
(International Flavors and Fragrances), Paris.
Pascal MARCHAND Professeur à l’IUT de Toulouse.
Fanny MARTEAU-CHASSERIEAU Maître de conférences à l’EPP (Ecole de Psychologues
Praticiens) de Paris.
Martial MERMILLOD Professeur à l’Université Grenoble-Alpes.
Raphaëlle MILJKOVITCH Professeur à l’Université Paris 8-Vincennes-Saint-Denis
Sébastien MONTEL Ancien professeur de l’Université Paris 8-Vincennes-
Saint-Denis.
Michèle MONTREUIL Professeur honoraire à l’Université Paris 8-Vincennes-
Saint-Denis.
Farzad MORTAZAVI Doctorant, chercheur associé à l’Université Paris
8-Vincennes-Saint-Denis.
Gabriel MOSER (†) Professeur émérite à l’Université Paris Cité.
Etienne MULLET Directeur d’études émérite à l’École Pratique des Hautes
Études, Paris.
8
Liste des auteurs ■
María Teresa MUÑOZ SASTRE Professeur à l’Université Toulouse 2-Jean Jaurès.

Félix NETO Professeur à l’Université de Porto (Portugal).
Ahogni NGBALA Maître de conférences à l’Université Félix Houphouët-
Boigny à Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire).
Marine PAUCSIK Doctorante, chercheure associé à l’Université Grenoble-
Alpes.
Jean-Louis PÉDINIELLI (†) Professeur à l’Université de Provence.
Caroline PIGEON Post-doctorante à l’Université Lumière Lyon 2.
Julie RIBEYRON Chercheure associée à l’Université Paris 8-Vincennes-
Saint-Denis, psychologue.
Sophie RICHARDOT Maître de conférences à l’Université Picardie Jules-
Verne (Amiens).
Vincent ROY Maître de conférences HDR à l’université de Rouen-
Normandie.
Edith SALÈS-WUILLEMIN Professeur à l’Université de Bourgogne (Dijon).
Silke SCHAUDER Professeur à l’Université Picardie Jules-Verne (Amiens).
Baptiste SUBRA Maître de conférences à l’Université de Bordeaux.
Guillaume TACHON Chercheur associé à l’Université Lumière-Lyon 2, psy-
chologue.
Anne TCHERKASSOF Professeur à l’Université Grenoble-Alpes.
Damien TESSIER Maître de conférences à l’Université Grenoble-Alpes.
Anne THEUREL Chercheur associé à l’Université Grenoble-Alpes.
Claire TOURMEN Lecturer à UC Berkeley (USA) et chercheuse associée
à AgroSup (Dijon).
Didier TRUCHOT Professeur à l’Université de Franche-Comté (Besançon).
Agata URBANOWICZ Chercheure associée à l’Université Grenoble-Alpes.
David UZZELL Professeur à l’Université de Surrey (Grande-Bretagne).
Colomba VAN WIJNEN Master de santé publique, stagiaire recherche à l’Uni-
versité Grenoble-Alpes.
Jean-François VERLHIAC Professeur à l’Université Paris-Nanterre.

Kevin VEZIRIAN Chercheur associé à l’Université Grenoble-Alpes.
Jacqueline WENDLAND Professeur à l’Université Paris Cité.
9
Table des matières n° 1/Table of contents nr 11
Préface............................................................................................................................................................................. 21
C  – P   /

C ........................................................................................ 25
1. From theory to practice in therapy (Audio 1) (Laurence Masse) ... 27
2. Development of psychotherapeutic practices : towards integration ?
(Laurence Masse)............................................................................................................................. 30
Exercise 2 ................................................................................................................ 35
3. The therapeutic alliance : paradigm of common factors
(Fanny Marteau-Chasseriau) ................................................................................................. 36
Exercise 3 ................................................................................................................ 39
4. Positive psychology : an introduction
(Rebecca Shankland & Colette Aguerre) ..................................................................... 39
Exercise 4 ................................................................................................................ 43
5. Positive psychology interventions for depression (Guillaume Tachon,
Fanny Marteau-Chasserieau & Rebecca Shankland) ........................................ 44
Exercise 5 ................................................................................................................ 48
6. An introduction to basic concepts in psychoanalysis (Audio 6)
(Silke Schauder)................................................................................................................................ 48
Exercise 6 ................................................................................................................ 53
7. Anxiety disorders (Arnaud Carré) .................................................................................... 53
Exercise 7 ................................................................................................................ 59
8. Theory of mind (Audio 8) (Marine Blondel) ................................................... 59
Exercise 8 ................................................................................................................ 62
9. Self-compassion and its effects on mental health
(Julie Ribeyron, Marine Paucsik & Rebecca Shankland) ............................... 62
Exercise 9 ................................................................................................................ 65
Textes électroniques à retrouver dans vos ressources en ligne (certains de ces
textes sont en version audio ( ) et peuvent contenir des exercices situés en fin de
texte ; voir à la fin du livre chapitre 8 page 225 pour les corrections) :
10. Empathy (Fanny D’Ambrosio)
11. Video game addiction : A real addiction ? (Audio 11 et Exercise 11)
(Céline Bonnaire)
1. Les textes et films sont classés par domaine de recherche (texts and films are classified by
research area).
11
12. Obesity and body image (Audio 12) (Aurélie Docteur)

13. A psychiatric and psychopathological approach to delirium and
hallucinations (Audio 13) (Ingrid Banovic et Jean-Louis Pédinielli)
14. Emotion (Audio 14) (Anne Tcherkassof)
15. The transition to parenthood in women with borderline personality
disorders (Jacqueline Wendland) (Exercise 15)
C  – P  /

P    ........................................... 67
16. Rewarding and praising children (Audio 16) (Mikkel Hansen)........ 69
Texte électronique 16 : Rewarding children pour la suite du texte
Exercise 16.............................................................................................................. 76
17. Promoting motivation and well-being at school :
a self-determination theory and a positive psychology perspective
(Damien Tessier & Colomba Van Wijnen) ................................................................ 77
Exercise 17.............................................................................................................. 81
18. Emotional competences and academic performance
(Anne Theurel & Edouard Gentaz) .................................................................................. 81
Exercise 18.............................................................................................................. 85
19. Developmental trajectories in children with visual impairment
(Anna Rita Galiano) ...................................................................................................................... 86
Exercise 19.............................................................................................................. 89
20. Preventing and reducing parental burnout
(Agata Urbanowicz, Aurélie Gauchet & Rebecca Shankland) ................... 89
Exercise 20.............................................................................................................. 93
21. The development of time perception in children (Audio 21) ............ 93
Exercise 21.............................................................................................................. 97
22. The impact of early mother-infant interaction on the development
of infant attachment (Audio 22) (Jacqueline Wendland) ...................... 98
Exercise 22.............................................................................................................. 101
23. Introduction to attachment theory (Audio 23) (Romain Dugravier)
24. Are macro-developmental Piagetian concepts relevant to describe
micro-development ? (Sandra Bruno) (Exercise 24)
C  – P   /H  ...................... 103

25. Health psychology (Audio 25) (Colette Aguerre) ......................................... 105
Exercise 25.............................................................................................................. 109
12
Table des matières n° 1/Table of contents nr 1 ■
26. Health and cognition (Jean-François Verlhiac) ..................................................... 110

Exercise 26.............................................................................................................. 112
27. Breaking bad news to patients : cultural differences (Audio 27)
(Lonzozou Kpanake & Etienne Mullet) ........................................................................ 113
Exercise 27.............................................................................................................. 116
28. Why patients refuse to take antibiotics
(María Teresa Muñoz Sastre) ................................................................................................ 117
Exercise 28.............................................................................................................. 119
29. Assessing hospitalized patients’ quality of life from external indices
(María Teresa Muñoz Sastre) ................................................................................................ 119
Exercise 29.............................................................................................................. 124
30. Fostering the mobility of older adults
(Caroline Pigeon & Mélanie Levasseur)....................................................................... 125
Exercise 30.............................................................................................................. 129
31. Awe : conditions of emergence and properties
(Colette Aguerre & Farzad Mortazavi) ......................................................................... 129
Exercise 31.............................................................................................................. 132
32. The locus of control : contributions and limits (Audio 32)
(Daniel Gilibert et Ingrid Banovic)
33. Relationship between smoking and perceived risk of lung cancer
(María Teresa Muñoz Sastre) (Exercise 33)
34. Changes in French people’s misconceptions about hepatitis C
(María Teresa Muñoz Sastre) (Exercise 34)
C  – P /S .................................... 133

35. The reasons for love and friendship : conscious or unconscious ?
(Audio 35) Lubomir Lamy) ............................................................................................. 135
Exercise 35.............................................................................................................. 139
36. Prosocial behavior (Film 2) (Lubomir Lamy) ................................................. 139

37. Civility in urban environments : Is politeness outdated ?
(Gabriel Moser & Denis Corroyer) ................................................................................... 143
Exercise 37.............................................................................................................. 147
38. The power of conformity (Films 3 et 4) (Sophie Richardot) .............. 148
39. Destructive obedience to authority (Film 5) (Sophie Richardot)... 151
40. Killing an animal in the name of science
(Laurent Bègue & Kevin Vezirian).................................................................................... 155
Exercise 40.............................................................................................................. 158
13
41. Attitudes, attitude change and persuasion (Fabien Girandola) ............... 159
Exercise 41.............................................................................................................. 162
42. Prejudices, stereotypes and discrimination (Film 6)
(Edith Salès-Wuillemin)............................................................................................................ 162
Exercise 42.............................................................................................................. 167
43. Psychology of women : from the margins to the mainstream
(Films 7 et 8) (Wendy Pullin) ........................................................................................ 168
44. Regret : Its role in our lives (Audio 44) (Film 9)
(Ahogni Ngbala) ............................................................................................................................... 171
Texte électronique 44 : Regret pour la suite du texte
45. Free will compliance and binding communication (Film 10)
(Fabien Girandola & Robert-Vincent Joule) ............................................................ 174
46. Alcohol and aggression : three main perspectives
(Laurent Bègue et Baptiste Subra) (Exercise 46)
47. Environmental psychology : scope and utility of a contextualised
psychology
(Gabriel Moser et David Uzzell) (Exercise 47)
48. Seeking forgiveness in an intergroup context (Audio 48)
(Félix Neto et Étienne Mullet)
49. Talking about something or talking to someone ?
(Pascal Marchand) (Exercise 49)
C  – P /C ................... 179

50. Beneficial effects of mindfulness on cognitive and affective functions
(François-Xavier Cécillon, Martial Mermillod, Antoine Lutz,
Edouard Gentaz, Jean-Philippe Lachaux & Rebecca Shankland) ........... 181
Exercise 50.............................................................................................................. 185
51. Retrieving information from memory (Film 11)
(Sabine Guéraud)............................................................................................................................. 186
52. Can olfactory experiences be shared by individuals ?
Variability and stability of olfactory perception
(Audio 52 et Exercice 52) (Céline Manetta)
14
Table des matières n° 1/Table of contents nr 1 ■
53. Do categories for odors exist? The contribution of categorization

to the study of odor perception (Audio 53) (Céline Manetta)
C  – P    /

O    ..................... 191
54. Appraisal at the workplace : Between passion and revulsion
(Audio 54) (Lionel Dagot) ........................................................................................................ 193
55. Professional occupational integration :
the advantages and limitations of psychologization (Lionel Dagot) .... 197
Exercise 55.............................................................................................................. 201
56. Organizational stress and burnout (Didier Truchot) ....................................... 201
Exercise 56.............................................................................................................. 205
57. Role ambiguity, role conflict and organizational stress
(Didier Truchot)............................................................................................................................... 205
Exercise 57.............................................................................................................. 208
58. Learning to work : an introduction to professional didactics
(Audio 58) (Claire Tourmen)
59. Activity and learning : Research in professional didactics
(Claire Tourmen) (Exercise 59)
C  – N/N.......................................... 209

60. The relation between cognition and brain functioning :
an introduction to neuroscience (Audio 60)
(Virginie Beaucousin & Vincent Roy) ............................................................................ 211
Exercise 60.............................................................................................................. 214
61. Drug addiction : neurobiological basis of dependence
(Philippe Arvers) ............................................................................................................................. 215

Exercise 61.............................................................................................................. 219
62. The neuropsychological examination (Audio 62) ...................................... 220
63. Neuropsychological tests assessing constructional abilities :
conceptual and executive functions
(Michèle Montreuil et Muriel Lezak) (Exercise 63)
15
64. Coping and quality of life in relation to depression

and anxiety in Parkinson’s disease (Audio 64)
(Sébastien Montel et Catherine Bungener)
Exercice d’entraînement final :
65. Entraînement à l’écoute : US Specialization fields (Audio 65)
C  – R/A .............................................................................................. 225
16
Table des matières n° 2 – ressources en ligne/
Table of contents nr 2 – online resources
Pour aller plus loin et mettre toutes les chances de votre côté,
des ressources complémentaires sont disponibles sur le site
www.dunod.com.
Connectez-vous à la page de l’ouvrage (grâce aux menus déroulants, ou en saisissant

le titre, l’auteur ou l’ISBN dans le champ de recherche de la page d’accueil).
Sur la page de l’ouvrage, sous la couverture, cliquez sur le lien « LES + EN LIGNE ».
Films, textes électroniques et textes audio

texts in electronic format, and texts in audio format
Les films classés par niveau de difficulté
Film 1 : Early attachment in childhood : links with adult relationship patterns
(8’23)*** (d’après le texte de Raphaëlle Miljkovitch)
Film 2 : When do people help ? Diffusion of responsibility (9’42)*
Film 3 : Power of conformity. Asch’s experiment : Effects of group pressure
on distortion of judgements (12’45)** (d’après le texte de Sophie
Richardot)
Film 4 : Conformity (1’24)*
Film 5 : Destructive obedience to authority (8’59)* (d’après le texte de Sophie
Richardot)
Film 6 : The effects of social categorization (7’13)**
Film 7 : Sexist language and cognition (11’43)*

Film 8 : Psychology of women : From the margins to the mainstream (12’18)***
(d’après le texte de Wendy Pullin)
Film 9 : Examples of decisions influenced by regret, wheter experienced or
anticipated (16’49)*** (d’après le texte de Ahogni Ngbala)
Film 10 : Free will compliance and foot-in-the-door effect (5’07)*
Film 11 : Tip of the tongue exercise (10’25)**
Film 12 : Stroop effect (3’36)*
17
Film 13 : Gestalt theory : laws of perceptual organization (4’35)*

Film 14 : Learn how « chunking » improves recall (7’45)**
Film 15 : Differences between structural, phonemic and semantic encoding :
a depth processing effect (6’03)**
Film 16 : Neurocognitive psychology : memory (11’16)*** (d’après le texte de
Benjamin Gallais)
Film 17 : Bases of neuropsychology : Course 1 (8’40)** (d’après le texte de
Benjamin Gallais)
Film 18 : Bases of neuropsychology : Course 2 (9’21)** (d’après le texte de
Benjamin Gallais)
Les textes en version audio

Audio 1 : From theory to practice in therapy (cf. texte 1 du livre)
Audio 6 : An introduction to basic concepts in psychoanalysis (cf. texte 6 du
livre)
Audio 8 : Theory of mind (cf. texte 8 du livre)
Audio 11 : Video game addiction : a real addiction ? (cf. texte électronique 11 des
ressources en ligne)
Audio 12 : Obesity and body image (cf. texte électronique 12 des ressources en
ligne)
Audio 13 : A psychiatric and psychopathological approach to delirium and hallu-
cinations (cf. texte électronique 13 des ressources en ligne)
Audio 14 : Emotion (cf. texte électronique 14 des ressources en ligne)
Audio 16 : Rewarding and praising children (cf. texte 16 du livre et la suite du
texte en version électronique 16 des ressources en ligne)
Audio 21 : The development of time perception in children (cf. texte 21 du livre)
Audio 22 : The impact of early mother-infant interaction on the development
of infant attachment (cf. texte 22 du livre)
Audio 23 : Introduction to attachment theory (cf. texte électronique 23 des
Audio 25 : Health psychology (cf. texte 25 du livre)
Audio 27 : Breaking bad news to patients : cultural differences (cf. texte 27 du
livre)
Audio 32 : The locus of control : contributions and limits (cf. texte électro-
nique 32 des ressources en ligne)
Audio 35 : The reasons for love and friendship : conscious or unconscious ?
(cf. texte 35 du livre)
18
Table des matières n° 2 – ressources en ligne/Table of contents nr 2 – online resources ■
Audio 44 : Regret : its role in our lives (cf. texte 44 du livre et la suite du texte en
version électronique 44 des ressources en ligne)
Audio 48 : Seeking forgiveness in an intergroup context (cf. texte électronique
48 des ressources en ligne)
Audio 52 : Can olfactory experiences be shared by individuals ? Variability
and stability of olfactory perception (cf. texte électronique 52 des
Audio 53 : Do categories for odors exist ? The contribution of categorization to
the study of odor perception (cf. texte électronique 53 des ressources
en ligne)
Audio 54 : Appraisal at the workplace : between passion and revulsion (cf. texte 54
du livre)
Audio 58 : Learning to work : an introduction to professional didactics (cf. texte
électronique 58 des ressources en ligne)
Audio 60 : The relation between cognition and brain functioning : an introduc-
tion to neuroscience (cf. texte 60 du livre)
Audio 62 : The neuropsychological examination (cf. texte 62 du livre)
Audio 64 : Coping and quality of life in relation to depression and anxiety in
Parkinson’s disease (cf. texte électronique 64 des ressources en ligne)
Audio 65 : US Fields of specialization in Psychology (Entraînement à l’écoute)
(cf. texte électronique 65 des ressources en ligne)
Les textes électroniques

(classés par ordre d’apparition dans le livre)
Texte 10 : Empathy
Texte 11 : Video game addiction : A real addiction ?
Texte 12 : Obesity and body image
Texte 13 : A psychiatric and psychopathological approach to delirium and
hallucinations
Texte 14 : Emotion
Texte 15 : The transition to parenthood in women with borderline personality
disorders
Texte 16 : Rewarding and praising children (voir texte 10 du livre pour le début)
Texte 23 : Introduction to attachment theory
Texte 24 : Are macro-developmental Piagetian concepts relevant to describe
micro-development ?
Texte 32 : The locus of control : contributions and limits
19
Texte 33 : Relationship between smoking and perceived risk of lung cancer

Texte 34 : Changes in French people’s misconceptions about hepatitis C
Texte 44 : Regret : its role in our lives (voir texte 32 du livre pour le début)
Texte 46 : Alcohol and aggression : three main perspectives
Texte 47 : Environmental psychology : scope and utility of a contextualised
psychology
Texte 48 : Seeking forgiveness in an intergroup context
Texte 49 : Talking about something or talking to someone ?
Texte 52 : Can olfactory experiences be shared by individuals ? Variability and
stability of olfactory perception
Texte 53 : Do categories for odors exist ? The contribution of categorization to
the study of odor perception
Texte 58 : Learning to work : an introduction to professional didactics
Texte 59 : Activity and learning : Research in professional didactics
Texte 63 : Neuropsychological tests assessing constructional abilities : concep-
tual and executive functions
Texte 64 : Coping and quality of life in relation to depression and anxiety in
Parkinson’s disease
Texte 65 : US fields of specialization in psychology
20
Préface
À Joel Swendsen, en souvenir de son humanité
et son engagement pour développer
la psychologie scientifique en France.
Ce manuel est destiné aux étudiants de psychologie et à leurs enseignants

d’anglais, ainsi qu’aux professionnels de la psychologie, chercheurs et praticiens
qui souhaitent apprendre et se perfectionner en anglais pour psychologues.
De plus en plus, l’exercice actuel du « métier » d’étudiant et, par la suite, de celui
de psychologue, nécessite fréquemment la lecture d’ouvrages et d’articles en anglais.
Or ces écrits sont rarement traduits dans notre langue. De plus, les communications
des chercheurs lors de colloques internationaux se font très souvent en anglais,
nécessitant une bonne maîtrise de cette langue.
Par ailleurs, l’ouverture des frontières européennes et les nombreux accords
passés entre nos universités françaises et des universités anglophones rendent
possible la préparation de diplômes à l’étranger. Pour ce faire, il est parfois demandé
aux étudiants français de justifier de leur niveau de langue par des tests comme
le TOEIC, le TOEFL, le IELTS ou le FCE, pour ne citer que les plus connus. La
maîtrise de l’anglais s’avère donc un atout incontestable tant au niveau des études
qu’au niveau professionnel.
L’objectif de cet ouvrage est de vous fournir un outil de travail à la fois écrit et
oral vous permettant d’aborder les théories et concepts en anglais présents dans
les différents champs de la psychologie.
Pour ce faire, cet ouvrage est composé d’un recueil de textes accompagné de
ressources en ligne, accessibles sur le site de Dunod, à partir de la fiche de présen-
tation de cet ouvrage. Vous trouverez :
• des vidéos de cours filmés et des expériences de psychologie à voir et à repro-

duire chez soi; elles sont indiquées par le sigle ;
• les versions audio de certains textes du livre, indiquées par le sigle ;
• des textes électroniques indiqués par le sigle et leur version audio ;
• deux lexiques de vocabulaire anglais-français et français-anglais.
21
Présentation des textes écrits et des textes audio

Les auteur(e)s des textes
Nous avons sollicité un ensemble de spécialistes des différents champs de la
psychologie appartenant à de nombreuses universités françaises ou étrangères.
Ils se sont exprimés dans de courts textes de 3 à 4 pages sur leurs thèmes de prédi-
lection, qu’ils soient classiques ou contemporains. Les textes que vous lirez sont
écrits tantôt en anglais britannique, tantôt en anglais américain, reflétant ainsi la
diversité des appartenances géographiques des auteurs.
Les traducteurs
Nous avons majoritairement privilégié des recherches françaises et avons fait
appel à des professionnels de la traduction à savoir :
• Edward Hugues, professeur d’anglais et traducteur certifié.
• Jodi-Marie Masley (certification de traductrice professionnelle de New York
University).
• Martin Smith (chef de la traduction anglaise du Parlement européen à la retraite).
Les textes et leur version audio

Vous disposerez des textes du livre et des textes électroniques des ressources
en ligne pour pouvoir suivre les textes audio.
Avertissement au lecteur : afin de faciliter la lecture des textes présents dans
les ressources en ligne, nous les avons parfois légèrement remaniés. La version
« audio » de ces textes peut donc s’écarter parfois sensiblement de la version écrite
présente dans ces ressources en ligne.
Les textes sont accompagnés d’exercices de compréhension

Les réponses aux exercices sont données dans la partie « Réponses » (« Answers »)
en fin d’ouvrage.
Les textes sont accompagnés d’un lexique de vocabulaire

Les termes de spécialité seront traduits de l’anglais vers le français et du
français vers l’anglais dans deux lexiques disponibles en ligne. Vous trouverez
également des définitions relatives à certaines théories ou à certains concepts.
22
Préface ■
Présentation des films
Des cours et des expériences de psychologie

Certains textes ont donné lieu à des cours ou à des expériences de psychologie
filmés. Pour la plupart, ces cours ou expériences sont illustrés par des « diapo-
ramas » projetés pendant le film, vous permettant de suivre l’exposé oral du
professeur. De plus, certains de ces films vous permettront de réaliser ces expé-
riences chez vous.
Ces films seront indiqués par le sigle .
La réalisation et les intervenants des films

Les expériences sont animées par Wendy Pullin, professeure de psychologie à
l’université Concordia Collège d’Alberta au Canada et par deux chargés de cours
d’anglais pour psychologues à l’université Paris 8 : Christina Cosmos et Edward
Hughes.
Les cours sont donnés par Wendy Pullin.
Réalisation des films : Laurence Masse.
Montage : Stéphane Ténier.
Prise de vues : Jean-Louis Ténier et Laurence Masse.
Les films sont classés par niveaux de difficulté

Niveau 1 : « débutant », indiqué par le sigle *
Niveau 2 : « intermédiaire », indiqué par le sigle **
Niveau 3 : « confirmé », indiqué par le sigle ***
Remerciements
Je remercie Stéphane Ténier pour son professionnalisme : sans son travail
acharné, sa grande disponibilité et sa patience, rien du contenu de ces ressources
en ligne n’aurait pu voir le jour.
23
Je remercie Christina Cosmos, Agathe Brochard, Sabine Guéraud, Marine

Gardeur et Florentin Lesellier pour leur participation active et enthousiaste à ce
projet.
Je remercie Jean-Louis Ténier pour sa généreuse mise à disposition des moyens
audiovisuels et Maryl Azzoug pour son accueil chaleureux au sein de la SCUIO.
Je remercie pour finir les collègues BIATOSS ainsi que les étudiants pour leur
aimable participation : Nicolas Abejean, Anne Barrachin, Sancia Bikindou, Céline
Bilhaud, Mélissa Bouzidi, Cindy Camart, Morgane Chauvin-Pagesy, Sébastien
Danve, Laura-Marianne Decreuse, Mailin Dittman, Anne Duhin, Maud Feret,
Manon Gautran, Rémi Gils, Pierre Gris, Bomi Kim, Camille Kis, Fanny Laclef,
Christelle Lavialle, Thomas Lukowski, Sarah Maes, Myriam Messika, Camille
Monteltagot, Imen Ouasti, Jean-Sébastien Petrucci, Céline Pinto, Catherine
Rumebe, Ibrar Sarwar, Jamila Soulaymani, Clio Stavropoulos, Pauline Thomas,
Alexandria Vide, Laurence Wozniak, Chahrazade Zekri.
En résumé
Table des matières n° 1 : textes et exercices classés par domaine de recherche.
Table des matières n° 2 : films, textes électroniques et versions audio dans les
ressources en ligne classés par domaine de recherche.
: voir le film dans les ressources en ligne
Pour les films :
* Niveau 1 : « Débutant »
** Niveau 2 : « Intermédiaire »
*** Niveau 3 : « Confirmé »
: voir le texte électronique dans les ressources en ligne
: écouter la version audio dans les ressources en ligne
Mots ou expressions de spécialité : reportez-vous aux ressources électroniques
des deux lexiques de vocabulaire anglais/français et français/anglais.
Solutions aux exercices de compréhension : reportez-vous à la partie « Réponses »
en fin d’ouvrage.
We hope that you enjoy reading this book and find it useful for your acquisition
of psychological concepts and English terminology.
Laurence Masse
24
Chapitre 1
Psychologie clinique
et psychopathologique/
Clinical psychology
Sommaire
1) From theory to practice in therapy (Audio 1) ............................ 27
2) Development of psychotherapeutic practices :
towards integration ? (Exercise 2) ................................................. 30
3) The therapeutic alliance :
paradigm of common factors (Exercise 3) ...................................... 36
4) Positive psychology : an introduction (Exercise 4) ......................... 39
5) Positive psychology interventions for depression (Exercise 5) ...... 44
6) An introduction to basic concepts in psychoanalysis
(Audio 6 et Exercise 6) .............................................................. 48
7) Anxiety disorders (Exercise 7) ....................................................... 53
8) Theory of mind (Audio 8 et Exercise 8)...................................... 59
9) Self-compassion and its effects on mental health (Exercise 9) ...... 62
Textes électroniques à retrouver dans les ressources en ligne :

10) Empathy
11) Video game addiction : A real addiction ? (Audio 11 et Exercise 11)
12) Obesity and body image (Audio 12)
13) A psychiatric and psychopathological approach to delirium and
hallucinations (Audio 13)
14) Emotion (Audio 14)
15) The transition to parenthood in women with borderline personality
disorders (Exercise 15)
Psychologie clinique et psychopathologique/Clinical psychology ■ Chapitre 1
Clinical psychologists work to understand, prevent, and treat psychological

problems. When people are distressed, unable to cope with problems due to
stress, or engage in behaviours that are maladaptive in their social context, clinical
psychologists are available to assist them. They assess clients, form diagnoses,
and provide appropriate treatments. The goals of diagnosis and treatment are
to observe and understand the difficulties experienced by people of all ages and
to assist them by promoting subjective well-being, adaptive behaviours, and/or
ongoing personal development. Psychologists can work with clients who have
been diagnosed with serious psychological disorders or clients who are average
individuals who wish to improve some aspect of their personal development.
In the series of texts presented in this section of the book, authors will discuss
a range of issues covered by clinical psychologists, including different types of
therapy, different types of psychopathology, and how to cope with some of these
difficulties.
1) From theory to practice

in therapy (Audio 1)
The landscape of therapeutic theories and practices is shaped by contours and
reliefs as contrasting as they are disparate, mining the complexity of human func-
tioning by mobilizing the psycho-socio-bodily dimensions that determine it : one
approach will insist on the cognitive resources specially molded on Man’s unders-
tanding of his internal and external world; others will privilege his capacities for
insight and symbolization; still other explanatory vectors can be invoked, such as
his observable behaviors, his communicative and interactive abilities in a fami-
lial setting, his primary bodily experiences, etc. Boundaries emerge that separate
cognitive psychotherapy, psychoanalysis with its psychodynamic ramifications,
behavioral psychotherapy, systemic psychotherapy, body therapies (bioenergy,

relaxation, etc.) – drawn here in concise terms.
Even though each one of these theoretical domains accounts for a stable,
consonant and coherent conceptualization of psychic functioning, the “curative”
techniques and principles they implement in the reality of practice afford a greater
illusion of uniformity. It has been possible to make several observations related to
each of the approaches based on the self-analysis of the therapists themselves or by
the analyses carried out on the archives of interviews conducted by the founding
founders of the different currents :
27
1) It is Franz Alexander, a renowned psychoanalyst, who first emphasized the

importance of therapeutic influence via non-verbal signaling of the therapist
in the exchange. According to him, the attitudes and reactions of psychoanalysts
are in no way consistent with the role prescribed by psychoanalytic “orthodoxy”.
Despite the contempt that psychoanalysts feel for the erosion of psychoana-
lytic “golden rules” (such as benevolent neutrality), all seem to use “vulgar”
but nevertheless necessary therapeutic “copper” : warm attitude, empathy,
encouragement, etc. Nor does the work of interpretation in psychoanalytic
psychotherapy exclude different forms of influence, reinforcement, or suggestion
by active involvement of the therapist. Any interpretative operation, to varying
degrees, would also have a persuasive aim and would thus implicitly include one
or other of the following statements : “This must not be”, “This is not appropriate
for your age”, “This must be changed”, “This is the way of behaving”, etc. (Sigal,
1967). In the same vein, the “insight” described by psychoanalysis has, according
to Alexander, two components, a cognitive element or the insight itself and an
emotional element or the lived interpersonal experience that will become a
“corrective emotional experience” thanks to the therapist’s role of active support.
2) “Psychoanalytic” procedures are observed in a series of non-psychoanalytic
therapies : a considerable number of studies and case histories illustrate that
the performance of the tasks required in cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy
frequently leads to the mobilization and exploration of emotions, the triggering
of associations, the activation of unconscious “fantasies” as well as the acquisition
of insight in the patient. Levis (2015) thus believes that changes occur when the
therapeutic intervention succeeds in eliciting strong emotional reactions in the
patient.
• Brown (1967) cites as proof the behaviors of Joseph Wolpe in his conduct of
several sessions of systematic desensitization. In a film in which Wolpe demon-
strates this technique, Marmor (1971) confirms the influence of mechanisms
of suggestion, the transmission of the therapist’s values as well as the favorable
effects of a “positive transference”. The presence of cathartic discussion and
emotional exploration of past situations (Breger & McGaugh, 1965 ; Locke,
1971), the role of countertransference (Goldfried, 1982 ; Goldfried & Davison,
1976 ; Wright & Sabourin, 1987) as well as humanistic concepts relating to
empathy, warmth and congruence receive a favorable echo in behaviorist
practices that they do not grant as evidently in their theoretical formulation.
3) The therapists of the humanist school are no less immune to certain “here-
tical” or at least contradictory behaviors vis-à-vis their theoretical postulates.
As early as 1956, Murray illustrated the selective nature of Rogers’ interven-
tions (in contradistinction to the total autonomy of patients) and therefore the
28
omnipresence of verbal conditioning. Analyzing in turn an interview conducted

by Rogers, Truax (1966) came to the same conclusions. Thus, everything seems
to indicate that Rogers selectively used empathy and “unconditional respect”
on some statements rather than others and that these attitudes act as a process
of reinforcement or extinction in the patient’s exploration. Thus, the themes
addressed by the patient that are reformulated by the therapist (reflected back
in his/her responses) increase with the development of psychotherapy while
those that are not reflected (or reformulated) decrease during treatment. Woody
(1973) states : “Reinforcement is an integral part of the patient-centered approach
that proudly claims to be non-directive but in fact conditions the patient to
respond in a sense unconsciously determined by the therapist.”
Such a uniform and consensual state of affairs, even if it does not strictly mirror
our European therapeutic world – which remains to be confirmed –, is eminently
surprising given the acrimonious debates that have marked the history of the thera-
peutic movement. Reading all these studies, one is entitled to ask what would not
be common to these therapeutic “mechanics”. Why would it be astonishing to
observe a comparable efficacy of therapies (Lambert & Ogles, 2004 ; Wampold,
2001) when the treatment techniques and communication styles are so convergent ?
In the light of all these studies, clinical orthodoxy appears more like an illusion
that some “shrinks” strive to preserve. All therapists, regardless of their theoretical
affiliation, seem to incorporate a set of procedural techniques that are “outside
the box”, drawing on unforeseen and unpredictable communicative signaling to
reflect a variety of common influencing strategies such as suggestion, reinforce-
ment, modeling, persuasion, etc. If, overall, the practice remains globally consistent
with the theoretical affiliation of the therapist, it seems nevertheless clear that
they are not limited to the techniques suggested by their orientation and that
therefore, these are not the only underpinning at the origin of the results obtained.
Several of these “foreign” phenomena, sometimes spurned by the approach in
question, have gradually been identified as common factors in psychotherapy. For
example, Blagys & Hilsenroth (2000) identified seven features that were supposed
to distinguish psychodynamic-interpersonal therapy from cognitive-behavioral
treatment, namely : “focus on affect and expression of emotion”, “exploration of
attempts to avoid distressing thoughts and feelings”, “identification of recurring
themes and patterns”, “discussion of past experiences”, “focus on interpersonal
relations”, “focus on the therapy relationship”, and “exploration of fantasy life”.
Although these features may have originated in the psychodynamic literature, they
transcended their origins and became pantheoretical more than 30 years ago. As
Bordin (1979) indicated in his seminal article on working alliance, “The terms of
29
the therapeutic working alliance have their origin in psychoanalytic theory, but

can be stated in forms generalizable to all psychotherapies.”
Selective references for further reading

Blagys, M.D., & Hilsenroth, M.J. (2000). Medicine. Cambridge, 38, 5,
Distinctive Features of Short-Term 677-688.
Psychodynamic-Interpersonal Tolin, D.F. (2010). Is Cognitive-Behavioral
Psychotherapy : A Review of the Therapy More Effective Than Other
Comparative Psychotherapy Process Therapies ? A Meta-Analytic Review.
Literature. Clinical Psychology : Clinical Psychology Review, 30(6),
Science and Practice, 7(2), 167-188. 710-720.
Hubble, M.A., Duncan, B.L., Miller, S.D., Visentini, G. (2021). Fifteen years after
Wampold, B.E. (2012). In Duncan B., the INSERM report. Psychoanalysis’s
Hubble M., Miller S., The Essence of Efficacy Reevaluated. Psychiatric
Change. Using the Factors Common to Evolution, 86(3), e1-e17. https://doi.
Different Psychotherapies. Brussels : org/10.1016/j.evopsy.2021.06.014
De Boeck, p. 51-76. Wampold, B. (2012). Research Findings in
Lambert M.J., Bergin A.E. (1994). The Support of Common Factor Models.
Effectiveness of Psychotherapy. In In B. Duncan et al., The Essence of
Bergin A.E., Garfield S.L. (eds.), Handbook Change. Trad., De Boeck, p. 79-111.
of Psychotherapy and Behavior Zimmermann, G. & Pomini, V. (2013).
Change. Oxford ; John Wiley, p. 143-189. Meta-Analysis and Effectiveness of
Stiles, W.B., Barkham, M., Mellor-Clark, Psychotherapies : Facts and Fictions…
J., Connell, J. (2008). Psychological French Psychology, 58, 167-175.
2) Development of psychotherapeutic practices :

towards integration ?
The diversification of techniques
In coining the term “psychotherapy” in 1872, Hans Tucke, followed by Bernheim
in 1891 for his French translation, probably did not imagine how numerous and
how diverse the practices that this term covers would become. It would be a century
before, with a dizzying acceleration during the second half of the 20th century,
30
the diverse methods of therapeutic care would emerge : the number of therapies

is currently estimated at around 400 (Chiche, 2013), not including the new and
sometimes exotic and disconcerting forms that continue to spring up.
However, this plethora of therapies can be narrowed down to a few large families
according to type of relationship (individual, couple, family or group) but also and
above all according to the theoretical framework they adopt. The principal theo-
retical groups are : (1) psychoanalysis and psychoanalysis-inspired therapies with
Freud, Jung, Adler, Rank, Ferenczi, Melanie Klein, Anna Freud and Lacan, (2) cogni-
tive and behavioral therapies (CBT) pioneered by Aaron Beck, (3) family or systemic
therapy introduced by the Palo Alto movement, (4) humanist and existential thera-
pies with the person-centered approach (PCA, Carl Rogers), Gestalt (Fritz Perls),
logotherapy (Viktor Frankl), existential therapy (Irvin Yalom), meaning-centered
therapy (Paul Wong), David Spiegel’s support groups, (5) hypnotherapy (Milton
Erikson and Daniel Araoz, Dave Elman, Don E. Gibbons), (6) psycho-corporal and
emotional psychotherapies (bioenergy, primal analysis, emotional psychodrama
etc.), (7) support and accompaniment therapies (developed in the 1980s in institu-
tions or associations helping sick or grieving persons). More recently new therapies
have emerged, two examples being EMDR (eye movement desensitization and
reprocessing), discovered by Shapiro and based on the principle that anxiety of
traumatic origin can be treated by eye movement, and virtual-reality therapies that
use CBT desensitization techniques to treat phobias or anxiety in a virtual context.
Emergence of eclectic and integration psychotherapy

In addition to the atomization of the traditional paradigmatic fields into theo-
retical myriads, the adherence of therapists to schools of thought (and thus, the
therapeutical practices, themselves), has been altered considerably : after the supre-
macy of unified theoretical schools in the 40s, 50s and 60s, the therapy scene in
North American is now dominated by an array of “eclectic” methods, whereby
tools and methods are borrowed from various disparate approaches. In a recent
survey (2015), 85% of North American therapists declared themselves to be eclectic
(Tasca et al., 2015).
According to Norcross and Goldfried (2005), eclecticism may be defined as “an
approach to thought that does not hold rigidly to any single paradigm or any single
set of assumptions, but rather draws upon multiple theories to gain insight into
phenomena”. In other words, eclectic therapists neither need nor have a theore-
tical basis to understand and use a specific technique : they just choose different
techniques because of their efficacy. Eclectic therapists generally do not subscribe
31
to a common set of principles since an eclectic approach is based on differences

rather than similarities. Eclectism has thus been criticized for its lack of theoretical
consistency. Nevertheless, eclecticism is to be distinguished from unsystematic and
uncritical combination, known as “syncretism” (Benito, 2018). It is important here
to underline that eclectic therapy (or technical integration) differs from “integrative
therapy (or theoretical integration) which represents an attempt to bring together
concepts from disparate, or even contrasting theoretical approaches; the latter is
seen as a much more scrupulous process wherein two or more discrete systems of
therapy are blended into one unitary theory.
This integration movement was born in the United States in the 1980s and is
represented by the following contemporary eclectic-integrative systems : Lazarus’s
multimodal therapy, Beutler’s systematic eclectic psychotherapy, Hart’s func-
tional eclectic therapy, Prochaska’s transtheoretical approach, Garfield’s eclectic
approach, Driscoll’s pragmatic therapy, Brooks-Harris’ multitheoretical model and
Knobloch’s integrated psychotherapy.
However, within this vast movement, it is possible to distinguish four clusters
of integration :
1) As stated above, theoretical integration (also called theoretical-synthetic eclecti-
cism by Duruz, 2009) involves going further than a purely technical combination
by trying to conceptually integrate the different theoretical approaches. This
cluster has a unifying aim insofar as it seeks a satisfactory trans-theoretical
theory of therapeutic functioning, its dynamic properties and curative effects.
2) The common factors’ approach is defined as “an approach which seeks to deter-
mine the core ingredients that different therapies share in common, with the
eventual goal of creating more parsimonious and efficacious treatments based
on their commonalities”. This search is therefore predicated on the belief that
commonalities are more important in accounting for therapy outcome than the
unique factors that differentiate them.
3) In the case of “assimilative integration” (also called technico-practical eclecticism
by Duruz, op. cit.), pragmatism requires that the eclecticism claimed by practi-
tioners consists in bringing in techniques from outside the legitimate theoretical
field to which they belong and validating them empirically in their customary
practical approach. This approach relies on one theoretical position and incor-
porates techniques from other approaches within that position. Practitioners
are therefore not obligated to fundamentally readjust their theory of reference.
4) Another intermediate form, i.e. “prescriptive” eclecticism (Norcross & Garfield,
2019), stems from a marked focalization on the patient’s characteristics, which,
once evaluated, determine the treatment to be followed. This is consequently
32
an extremely flexible approach which does not attempt to integrate a particular

technique or devise a trans-theoretical system but adapts “cocktails” of methods
in an open theoretical framework with no specific a priori preference.
This twofold erosion of professional identity at both the theoretical and practical
levels requires us to be watchful insofar as it may prefigure the future of therapies
in Europe. Furthermore, this phenomenon that emerged in the 1980s is worthy
of our full attention in that it raises the no less fundamental question of the status
and role of theory in clinical practice.
Eclectic practice therefore calls for stances to be adopted regarding the different
variants of which it is composed or indeed which criticize it :
• For its detractors, eclecticism is the reflection of a clinical world that has lost
its bearings in the face of a lack of satisfactory theoretical paradigms and the
impossibility of finding an approach capable of solving the various psychological
problems encountered. By resorting increasingly to trans-theoretical methods
of intervention, practitioners are multiplying their often “wild” or desperate
attempts to adjust (Markowitz, 2005) in a search for effective ways of helping
patients whose psychological and pathological profiles are themselves highly
diversified.
• For the “pan-theorists”, eclecticism represents a risk of degradation of the quality
of therapeutic practice due to a complete abandonment of the hitherto prevailing
founding theories, which alone can provide clear reference frameworks, using
reliable methods which in their ensemble guarantee a focalized, standardized
guide. As well as giving the therapist “narcissistic reassurance”, a theory equates to
a pact or contract, which, beyond the rationality of discourse and beliefs necessary
to make it work, makes it possible to recognize all participants and their ideologi-
cally shared bond within a system. Furthermore, the “flexible” eclectic approach
seems difficult to manualize and raises the question of providing integrative trai-
ning to graduate students : these types of treatment might not be consistent with
the idea of randomized assignment to structured treatment protocols.
The “prescriptive” eclecticism movement, on the other hand, in dissociating

itself from the preexisting theoretical models, has spotted an opportunity to focus
attention on the functioning of the patients by constantly and repeatedly seeking
heuristics in response to their problems (Benito, 2018; Cooper et al., 2007) rather
than blindly following a clinical dogma (or model), too often self-sustaining or
self-referential.
Finally, the eclectic or integrative path in psychotherapy is perceived by its
panegyrists as a possible solution to the fragmentation of therapies and a possible
33
opening of different schools of thought to the conceptual criticisms leveled at them

by competing theories. It establishes a possible dialogue between the various move-
ments, seeks common curative procedures and compares the models proposed by
the different approaches
It is likely that integrative/eclectic therapy will continue to be an important
movement throughout the 21st century. The therapeutic state of play in North
America, probably the most highly rated in the world, has hitherto enabled us to
lay the foundations for a range of general questions pertaining to the trend in prac-
titioners’ affiliation to the various psychotherapy movements and the significance
of the fragmentation of certain preexisting dogmatic barriers. The very widespread
rallying by our North American neighbors to increasingly variegated theoretical
banners would appear to be far from generating the same enthusiasm in Europe.
However, it would be desirable to gather more tangible evidence by carrying out
broader surveys among those therapeutic environments that are less frequently
surveyed concerning their training and post-training practices.

Benito, M.J. (2018). The Fine Line Between Duruz, N. (2009). De l’éclectisme à la
Integration or Eclecticism and pensée d’école en psychothérapie :
Syncretism in New Therapists. Dual la voie de l’anthropologie clinique.
Diagnosis : Open Access, 3(3), 8. Perspectives psy, 48, 2, 194-200.
Castonguay, L.G. (2000). A Common Norcross, J.C., & Goldfried, M.R. (Eds.)
Factors Approach to Psychotherapy (2019). Handbook of Psychotherapy
Training. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration (3rd ed.). Oxford
Integration, 10, 263-282. University Press. https://doi.org/
10.1093/med-psych/97801906904
Chiche, S. (2013). Les grandes familles de
65.001.0001
psychothérapies, Les Grands Dossiers
Tasca G.A., Sylvestre J., Balfour L. et
des Sciences Humaines, 6(31), 13.
al. (2015). What clinicians want :
Cooper, M., & McLeod, J. (2007). A pluralis- Findings from a psychotherapy
tic framework for counselling and psy- practice research network sur-
chotherapy : Implications for research. vey. Psychotherapy (Chic). 52(1), 1-11.
J. Couns. Psychol. Rese. 7, 135-143. doi :10.1037/a0038252
34
Exercise 2
Fill in the blanks. Choose the most appropriate term from the list below.
List of terms
(a) multiple - (b) technico-practical eclecticism - (c) unified - (d) allegiance
- (e) prescriptive eclectism - (f) theoretical-synthetic eclecticism - (g) eclectic -
(h) processes - (i) framework - (j) common factors - (k) evidence
Sentences with blanks

Historically, training, research and practice in psychotherapy have been
dominated by (1) ..................... theoretical models. In the 80s, integrative and
(2) ..................... orientations have been developed as alternatives. The underlying
principle is that psychological difficulties may have (3) ..................... causes and it
is unlikely to have one therapeutic method that would be appropriate in all situa-
tions, as different people are helped by different (4) ..................... at different times.
In (5) ....................., the therapist works within a consistent theoretical
(6) ..................... but freely employs effective techniques from other disciplines
without subscribing to the theories that spawned them.
In (7) ....................., two or more therapies are integrated to create an approach
that is better than the constituent therapies. Some models focus on combining and
synthesizing a small number of theories at a deep level. Other models combine
elements from several systems of psychotherapy at a more superficial level.
The (8) ..................... trend (or client-focused approach) tailors therapy based
on the basis of each client’s unique needs and situation by drawing on the most
effective and applicable techniques from eclectic theoretical camps.
The (9) ..................... approach includes the use of techniques across treatments
irrespective of their theoretical orientation. The aim of this approach is to consider
the common tools in each approach that can be useful in the therapy.
Although integrative psychotherapy has become more popular, there are still
obstacles to its further growth. Some persistent obstacles include continued
(10) ..................... to pure systems of psychotherapy and the difficulty of providing
integrative training to graduate students.
35
3) The therapeutic alliance :

paradigm of common factors
Introduction
The development of the major psychotherapeutic models has been followed
by extensive research into the evaluation of their efficacy and cost-effectiveness.
Research on the effectiveness of therapies has gone through four main stages
(de Roten, 2006). In the first, that of legitimisation, studies showed the effective-
ness of psychotherapies. In the second phase, comparisons between therapies
were made. In the third, or prescribing phase, studies focused on analysing which
therapy was most recommended according to the patient’s symptomatology. This
perspective seems to be the most relevant today and co-exists with the last phase
of understanding psychotherapies. The emphasis is therefore on understanding
this usefulness/efficacy and on identifying common factors to psychotherapies,
such as the therapeutic alliance, which would be predictive of their effectiveness
(Castonguay, 1993 ; Norcross & Lambert, 2019 ; Wampold, 2015).
The common factors paradigm

The therapeutic alliance is defined by the affective bond established between
the therapist and the patient, as well as by the collaboration between the two
partners in defining the objectives and tasks of the therapy (Bordin, 1979). This
conceptualisation of the alliance is relevant because it positions psychotherapy as
a professional act according to a specific methodology (Brennstuhl & Marteau-
Chasserieau, 2021). Patient and therapist engage in a collaborative relationship
according to a therapeutic direction. They agree on the objectives/goals towards
which the therapy is directed, as well as on the techniques/tasks that will be used
to achieve them.
Certain therapist and patient characteristics also have a significant influence
on the quality of the alliance and the outcome of psychotherapy (Wampold &
Brown, 2005). Some therapists are more effective than their peers, and achieve
better outcomes regardless of the therapeutic model used (Baldwin et al., 2007 ;
Wampold, 2001). It seems that a key characteristic of successful therapists is an
exploratory process characterized by active and flexible collaboration (Lecomte et
al., 2004). They are able to redirect goals or therapeutic techniques according to
the needs of the patient. This flexibility is essential, as it allows them to adjust to
the patient’s level of defensiveness and the vagaries of psychotherapy. Other core
36
competencies of these therapists include skill in the use of therapeutic techniques,

a strong interest in the patient, a high level of empathy and sensitive responses
that are attuned to the patient’s subjective experience, a high level of therapeutic
presence, a high level of congruence, honesty in the techniques they provide, and
a selection of patients that is appropriate to their skills (Wampold & Brown, 2005).
Humor is also seen as a key element in relieving tension or de-dramatising diffi-
culties. The positive expectations that therapists have for their patients’ recovery
exert a considerable influence on therapy (Meyer et al., 2002). Finally, competent
therapists engage in supervisory practice to help them regulate their emotional
states and break through therapeutic impasses (Plantade-Gipch, 2017). They use
reflexivity during the interview to regulate their own and their patient’s emotions,
as well as the relationship, while applying the therapeutic techniques.
At the same time, certain characteristics of the patient, such as their posi-
tive expectations for therapeutic progress, their motivation, involvement and
commitment to the proposed tasks are all predictive of the establishment of a
good therapeutic alliance (Hersoug et al., 2009). Other factors are essential, such as
his insight capacities, his assertive capacities to express his dissatisfaction with the
therapy and to regulate tensions, his secure attachment style and his positioning in
the stages of change (Djillali et al., 2020 ; Miller-Bottome et al., 2018). Conversely, a
patient with insecure attachment, marked vulnerability (severe depression, border-
line, narcissistic or paranoid personality disorders, schizophrenia, substance abuse),
rigid defenses (avoidance, denial, perfectionism, hopelessness) would have difficulty
engaging in a good therapeutic alliance.
The processes at work in therapeutic alliance

The therapeutic alliance supports the patient’s therapeutic progress in different
forms of psychotherapy. However, it is an implicit process that supports psychothe-
rapy and does not replace the therapeutic techniques recommended by the High
Health Authority to treat disorders. A good quality therapeutic alliance increases

the patient’s commitment to therapy and their hopes for recovery and provides
a safe space to accompany the patient’s emotional tensions and anxieties about
change.
The therapeutic alliance is defined by two phases (Norcross & Lambert, 2019) :
a first “initial” phase corresponds to the emergence of the alliance during the first
three interviews. This phase is linked to the emerging affective dimension between
the patient and the therapist. The quality of this affective link is decisive for the
quality of the alliance. It is characterised by a high level of mutual trust, and for the
37
patient by the feeling of being understood, respected and valued. The second stage
of “fluctuation” corresponds to variations in the alliance, characterised by phases of
decrease, breaks and restorations. Breakdowns in the alliance are common elements
in all therapies and are to be distinguished from breakdowns in therapy. Alliance
restoration is achieved through specific therapeutic work (Eubanks et al., 2015).
This phase requires the collaboration of the therapist and the patient to over-
come misunderstandings, or redefine new goals or new therapeutic tasks that are
more appropriate (Safran & Muran, 2000). The resolution of alliance breakdowns
accompanies the patient’s therapeutic evolution. Without alliance movements,
therapeutic developments would be weak.
Several processes underlie a split in the alliance between therapist and patient
concerning the emotional bond, therapeutic goals or tasks. With regard to bonding,
there may be tensions in the emotional bonding that may be related to a lack of
empathy or flexibility on the part of the therapist or to certain characteristics of the
patient such as insecure attachment or lack of desire for change. In terms of thera-
peutic direction, alliance breakdowns can occur when the therapist delivers a new
clinical hypothesis about the disorder, a psychopathological diagnosis, a highligh-
ting of a dysfunctional relational pattern or when the patient reveals elements
that he or she had previously hidden. These new elements may be assimilated
by the patient and reintegrated into the therapeutic targets or they may threaten
his or her defensive system and upset the quality of the therapeutic alliance. In
these situations, the clinical skill of the therapist lies in assessing at what point in
the therapy the patient will be able to hear a diagnosis, or interpretation or will
be able to face a situation of which he has a phobia. The therapist must be able
to include the patient’s defenses in their therapeutic strategy (Miller-Bottome et
al., 2018). The majority of therapists experience difficulties in these situations of
alliance breakdowns.
The therapeutic alliance accompanies patients and therapists, and guides them
through the vagaries of therapeutic tensions. When the split is present, the ability
of the therapist and the patient to regulate the affective tensions within the thera-
peutic session helps to resolve the breakdowns. To this end, therapist interventions
in response to markers of alliance breakdown identified in sessions (hostile attitude,
patient responding in an evasive manner, missed sessions, etc.) are particularly
relevant (Eubanks et al., 2015). The therapist should also acknowledge his or her
involvement in the vagaries of the patient-therapist relationship. In some situations,
it is preferable for the therapist to work indirectly on these breakdowns so as not to
confront the patient too directly, thus enabling the patient to continue attending
therapy until recovery is achieved.
38

Brennstuhl, M.-J., & Marteau- A relational treatment guide. Guilford
Chasserieau, F. (2021). L’alliance thé- Press.
rapeutique en 66 notions. Malakoff : Wampold, B.E. (2001). The great psycho-
Dunod. therapy debate : Models, methods,
Safran, J.D., & Muran, J.C. (2000). and findings. Lawrence Erlbaum
Negotiating the therapeutic alliance : Associates Publishers.
Exercise 3
Questions
1) Give the definition of the therapeutic alliance according to Bordin (1979).
2) What are the four main stages of research on the effectiveness of therapies ?
3) What key characteristic of psychotherapists seems to predict their success ?
4) What is the purpose of the therapeutic alliance ?
4) Positive psychology : an introduction

What is positive psychology ?
Positive psychology is the scientific study of the strengths, relationships and
contexts that enable individuals and communities to thrive (Gable & Haidt, 2005).
Originally inspired by humanistic psychology (Carl Rogers), this more recent field
was founded at the beginning of the 21st century on the belief that people want to
lead meaningful and fulfilling lives and to cultivate what is best within themselves.
When Seligman was president of the American Psychological Association (APA),
he decided to promote this approach, as evidenced by the subsequent creation
of several scientific associations (International Positive Psychology Association,

Association Française et Francophone de Psychologie Positive, etc.) as well as scien-
tific networks (e.g., European Network of Positive Psychology, or ENPP). Contrary
to most studies carried out in psychology, positive psychology is more focused on
optimal functioning rather than on deficits or problematic functioning. Mental
health is not considered as merely the absence of anxiety and depressive symptoms,
but as a particular state of well-being (of complete physical, mental and social
health) which enables individuals to overcome the inevitable current life tensions,
thereby accomplishing fruitful work and contributing to social life.
39
The goal of positive psychology

The main goal of positive psychology is to build a science of optimal human
functioning that enables a better understanding of positive outcomes : for example,
families and schools that allow children to flourish, workplaces that foster satisfac-
tion and productivity, communities that encourage civic engagement and therapies
which develop the patients’ strengths. Positive psychology has three central domains
of intervention (Seligman, 2002) : positive emotions, positive individual traits, and
positive institutions and relationships. Understanding positive emotions entails
the study of contentment with the past, happiness in the present, and hope for the
future. Understanding positive individual traits consists of the study of strengths,
such as the capacity for love, courage, compassion, resilience, creativity, curiosity,
integrity and self-control. Understanding positive institutions entails the study of
the strengths that foster better communities, such as justice, responsibility, civility,
parenting, nurturing, work ethic, teamwork and tolerance.
Is positive psychology opposed to other fields of psychology ?

Since World War II, psychology has focused its efforts almost exclusively on
psychological problems and how to remedy them. Great strides have thus been
made in understanding and treating psychological disorders. However, one conse-
quence of this focus on psychological disorders is that psychology has little to say
about what makes life most worth living. Positive psychology proposes to correct
this imbalance by focusing on strengths without ignoring weaknesses. It should
not be considered as a replacement for traditional psychology, but merely as a
supplement to the hard-won gains of traditional psychology. Psychology’s concern
with reducing problems should not be abandoned, which demands scientifically
informed solutions. Suffering and well-being, however, are both part of the human
condition, and psychologists should be concerned with both.
Basic themes, assumptions, and early missions

of positive psychology
One of the major themes that define positive psychology is a focus on the
factors and conditions that contribute most to a well-lived life and which encou-
rage humans to thrive – in other words, the characteristics and predictors of the
“good life”. This focus inevitably concerns human qualities that enrich our lives,
make life worth living, foster strong character and promote psychological growth,
but also nurture genius and talent. Today, psychologists identify 24 psychological
strengths (see articles by Seligman & Peterson). These are grouped into six areas :
40
knowledge and wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance and transcen-

dence. According to Seligman (2002), these personal qualities are the guarantee
of authentic happiness when they help us to accomplish our goals and when they
are used to benefit others.
What is not related to happiness and well-being ?

Positive psychology is grounded in empirical and replicable scientific studies.
Although some findings may come close to common sense, others can be coun-
ter-intuitive and quite surprising. For example, it is often believed that wealth
makes people happy. However, data shows that whilst economic output in the UK
has nearly doubled in the last 30 years, happiness levels have remained identical.
Research studies highlight that wealth is only weakly related to happiness, both
within and across nations, particularly when income is above the poverty level
(Diener & Diener, 1996). Equally, being well-educated or being young is not neces-
sarily a guarantee of happiness. In fact, contrary to popular belief, older people are
more constantly satisfied with their lives than younger individuals. Furthermore,
unsurprisingly, married people are generally happier than singles, but perhaps
because they were happier in the first place!
What kinds of life experiences contribute to well-being ?

Most pleasurable activities (such as shopping, watching TV, eating good food,
or making money) can make people joyful, but do not lead to psychological growth
or to human fulfillment in the long term, probably because they do not require any
ability or provide little challenge. It is more interesting to experience situations
that present challenges, more specifically, which help us to develop or improve
skills (e.g., becoming a better chess player), through the achievement of previously
set goals (e.g., reading a book, winning a game).
“Flow” is a state of well-being that can be experienced through dealing success-
fully with small daily challenges which are freely chosen (intrinsic motivation). This
term, coined by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (2006), refers to a state of absorption in
one’s work that is characterized by intense concentration, loss of self-awareness,
a feeling of control, and a sense that “time is flying”. It is possible to induce this
state by living optimal or “peak experiences”. This kind of activity generates positive
emotions that we can build upon, and which have lasting benefits for the indivi-
dual, helping him/her to cope better with adversity. Other studies also suggest
that traumatic experiences (e.g., serious illness) can sometimes be instructive and
may later provide a sort of psychological immunity against adaptative difficulties.
41
How can we become happier, build our resources and develop resiliency ?
There are numerous ways to develop happiness and well-being. Seligman recom-
mends identifying individual strengths and virtues in order to find new ways to
build upon them. Increasing self-awareness of personal qualities helps to decide
the extent to which one wishes to change for the benefit of achieving long term
well-being. Sonja Lyubomirsky (2008) proposes using strategies that foster positive
emotions, such as practicing acts of altruism or kindness, engaging in forgiveness,
and developing a grateful and mindful disposition. Another way to cultivate well-
being is to build positive social relationships which can play a protective role.
The future of positive psychology

Seligman (2002) predicted that in this new century, positive psychology would
help better understand the factors that allow individuals, communities, and society
to flourish, and not only to endure stressful situations or to recover after a trauma.
With this perspective, further efforts should be made to identify human strengths
and classify them in the same way as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders (DSM-5), which would become a universally adopted tool for
practitioners.
It also becomes crucial to create reliable assessment tools to evaluate personal
assets and to conduct appropriate longitudinal studies or experiments in order to
better understand why and how these individual strengths may increase through
daily actions. Positive psychology can also use scientific methods to investigate the
results of living a life based on the adoption of certain human values (e.g., altruism,
integrity, tolerance). Ultimately, it is essential to develop and to test clinical inter-
ventions and structured programs to build or enhance these psychological strengths
and virtues.
42

Martin-Krumm, C., & Tarquinio, C. (dir.) Shankland, R. (2019). La psychologie posi-
(2021). Le grand manuel de la psycho- tive. Malakoff : Dunod.
logie positive. Malakoff : Dunod. Snyder, C.R., Lopez, S.J. (2001). Handbook
Seligman, M.E.P., Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). of positive psychology. Oxford
Positive psychology : An introduction. University Press.
American Psychologist, 55 (1), 5-14.
Exercise 4
List of terms
(a) flow - (b) meaningful work - (c) positive institutions - (d) absence of anxiety
and depression symptoms - (e) positive psychology - (f) state of well-being -
(g) social life - (h) positive emotions - (i) qualities that enrich our lives - (j) positive
individual traits.

(1) .................. is the scientific study of the strengths and virtues that enable
individuals and communities to thrive. Mental health is no longer seen as the
(2) .................., but as a particular (3) .................. (of complete physical, mental and
social health) which enables individuals to engage in (4) .................. and contribute
to (5) ................... Understanding (6) .................. entails the study of contentment
with the past, happiness in the present, and hope for the future. Understanding
(7) .................. consists of the study of strengths and virtues, such as the capacity
for love, courage, compassion, resilience, creativity, curiosity, integrity and self-
control. Understanding (8) .................. entails the study of the strengths that foster
better communities, such as justice, responsibility, civility, parenting, nurturing,

work ethic, teamwork and tolerance. Human (9) .................. can be grouped into
six areas : knowledge and wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance and
transcendence. (10) .................. refers to a state of absorption in one’s work that is
characterized by intense concentration, loss of self-awareness, a feeling of control,
and a sense that “time is flying”.
43
5) Positive psychology interventions

for depression
In the last two decades, depressive disorders have appeared as a major public
health issue. Indeed, these disorders became the third most important cause of
disability in the World (James et al., 2018). Treating and preventing depression
is considered a priority, given its chronicity, comorbidity, and mortality rates.
Depression is characterized by a network of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral
symptoms. The core symptoms of depressive disorders are sustainable depressed
mood and negative affect, and a marked loss of pleasure (i.e., anhedonia), frequently
associated with a feeling of diffuse disinterest and loss of vitality. These indicators
of depression come with cognitive symptoms such as inappropriate feelings of
guilt or worthlessness, and behavioral signs such as a significant loss or gain of
weight, loss of appetite, insomnia or hypersomnia, and difficulties with concen-
tration (DSM-5, 2015).
Research has focused on the emotional and cognitive facets of depression,
leading to insightful knowledge about the functioning and the implications of
depressive disorders on health. From a cognitive perspective, depression is more
than just an emotional disorder : it changes the perception of the self and of the
surrounding world. Indeed, negative views of the self, the world, and the future, as
well as repetitive negative thoughts, are characteristic of depression. The cognitive
models of depression state that cognitive biases corrupt the information process
at each stage with respect to attention, interpretation, and memory, leading to a
global negative bias. This bias makes negative and over-general memories more
available and easier to recall than positive and specific ones (i.e., memory bias). It
also brings people to interpret in a more negative or threatening way ambiguous
or positive situations (i.e., interpretation bias). Finally, it makes it more difficult
for people to disengage their attention from negative information (i.e., attention
bias). Consequently, depressed people experience fewer positive emotions and
more unpleasant ones, such as helplessness, guilt or sadness. They also tend to
self-blame or self-attack more often. This cognitive bias is considered a key variable
in the appearance, maintenance, and recurrence of depressive episodes.
Researchers and clinicians have developed multiple ways to treat and prevent
this kind of disorder. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is one of the most
studied and evidence-based therapies used to treat depression. It is particularly
relevant given the importance of the cognitive processes implicated in depres-
sion. However, research has under-investigated the role of positive affects in the
treatment and prevention of depressive disorders. Although the lack of positive
44
affect (e.g., interest, enthusiasm, determination, inspiration) has been identified as

characteristic of depression, only recent search has focused on the role of positive
emotions in treating these disorders and preventing relapses. Therefore, developing
interventions targeting positive emotions could be relevant and allow depressed
individuals to increase their engagement in actions oriented towards positive
experiences. Being exposed to positive reinforcement and experiencing positive
emotions is a key element in reducing depression. Furthermore, by developing
greater access to positive emotions, the factors related to optimal functioning are
targeted and promoted. These are two main phenomena that led to the develop-
ment of Positive Psychological Interventions (PPIs).
Reducing symptoms and increasing well-being

The purpose of positive psychology is to understand and provide ways of foste-
ring mental health and well-being. PPIs are relevant in the treatment of depressive
disorders for several reasons. First, the main goal of PPIs is to enhance positive
emotions and cognitions, which can promote well-being and decrease depressive
symptomatology. As shown in two meta-analyses, PPIs are effective at reducing
depressive symptoms, with small to moderate effect sizes, suggesting their efficacy
in the treatment of depression (Bolier, 2013 ; Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009). Second,
these interventions favor the development of several aspects of optimal functioning.
Thus, participants can learn to identify and use their strengths, engage in pro-social
behaviors and in the maintenance of meaningful relationships, and develop greater
self-compassion. All these factors are useful for reducing depression and increasing
well-being. Promoting the emergence of these attitudes can also prevent depression
relapse, and empower people to deal with life’s adversities. Owing to these two dyna-
mics, PPIs can also contribute to cognitive restructuring. PPIs are thus a means of
cultivating positive emotions and fostering the development of optimal functioning.
Efficacy of positive psychology practices

PPIs involve in carrying out one specific practice during a certain amount of time.
The practice is often self-administrated but can also be guided by a practitioner or
proposed in a group. One of the most commonly used practices entails identifying
signature strengths and using them in a new way. Participants are invited to consider
new applications or new domains in which they can use some of their authentic
dispositions to feel, think, and behave ; these are known as character strengths (e.g.,
bravery, curiosity, forgiveness). This intervention reduces depressive symptomato-
logy and promotes happiness up to six months (e.g., Seligman et al., 2005). Another
45
intervention referred to as “Three good things in life” suggests writing down three
things in their life that went well and to provide a causal explanation for each thing.
This practice is also effective regarding depressive symptomatology and happiness
(e.g., Seligman et al., 2005). Another practice, the “best possible self” intervention,
aims at developing optimism by visualizing a future in which everything goes as
well as possible. This intervention also improves well-being (e.g., Lyubomirsky et
al., 2009). Another group of interventions is gratitude practices. Gratitude offers
a range of practices, such as gratitude journaling, gratitude visits, and grateful
reflection. The journal of gratitude consists of writing down three to five things for
which one is grateful, and explaining why. People engaged in a gratitude visit are
invited to write a letter of gratitude and to read it – if they wish to do so – to the
one for whom they are grateful. Grateful reflection involves focusing one’s attention
on an event eliciting gratitude, while experiencing the feeling as if living it again.
Overall, these interventions moderately reduce depressive symptomatology and
are considered an effective determinant of well-being (Cregg & Cheavens, 2020 ;
Jans-Beken et al., 2019). Several other interventions concerning acts of kindness,
self-compassion or hope have been developed and tested.
Each PPI can have an overall effect of improving affect, and can also promote
specific skills, competencies, and broader perspectives on life, sustaining the deve-
lopment of psychological well-being. Therefore, it is useful to combine different PPIs
to develop positive psychology programs. One example is the CARE (Coherence,
Attention, Relationship, Engagement) program developed in France (Shankland
et al., 2018). Comparative studies suggest that these integrative interventions are
effective at reducing depressive symptomatology and improving positive functio-
ning and well-being, sometimes even as effective as a recommended treatment for
depression such as group-based Cognitive Behavior Therapy.
The effectiveness of these interventions on depression can be explained
through several mechanisms. First, PPIs increase positive affect, which is lacking
in depression. In doing so, PPIs can sustain the improvement of the symptomato-
logy. Second, PPIs induce cognitive changes by developing attitudes that support
optimal functioning. For example, recent work on grateful disposition suggests
that those who are more grateful are also less depressed owing to their propensity
to reappraise life events in more positive ways. Gratitude interventions can thus
influence the negativity bias, and more precisely the interpretation bias which
characterizes depression.
It is also important to consider that the effectiveness of these interventions is
mediated by several factors. For example, therapeutic guidance argues the efficacy
of the intervention, such that individual PPIs with guidance are more effective
46
than group PPIs, which are in turn more effective than self-administrated PPIs.
The duration of the intervention is also a mediator, along with the individual’s
motivation to practice and the person-activity fit (activities that correspond to the
person’s way of thinking, values and habits). Thus, people who engage in activities
that cohere to their strengths, values, and interests benefit more from PPIs.
In conclusion, the use of PPIs can be relevant for the prevention and treatment
of depressive disorders. PPIs effectively cultivate attitudes that promote well-
being. Spacing out interventions over several weeks has also been suggested. PPIs
do not imply only seeing “the glass half full” ; it is rather about seeing “the glass
as a whole”, with the difficulties as well as the resources, dispositions, strengths,
values, and social support that help to resolve these difficulties. Therefore, these
interventions can be useful not only in reducing depressive symptomatology and
developing self-acceptance, but also in promoting optimal functioning, making
life worth living.

Bolier, L., Haverman, M., Westerhof, G.J., happier takes both a will and a pro-
Riper, H., Smit, F., & Bohlmeijer, E. per way : An experimental longitudi-
(2013). Positive psychology internal intervention to boost well-being.
ventions : a meta-analysis of ran- Emotion, 11(2), 391-402.
domized controlled studies. BMC Seligman, M.E.P., Steen, T.A., Park,
public health, 13(1), 1-20. https://doi. N., & Peterson, C. (2005). Positive
org/10.1186/1471-2458-13-119 Psychology Progress : Empirical
Cregg, D.R., & Cheavens, J.S. (2020). Validation of Interventions. American
Gratitude Interventions : Effective Psychologist, 60(5), 410-421.
Self-help ? A Meta-analysis of the Sin, N.L., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2009).
Impact on Symptoms of Depression Enhancing well-being and alleviating
and Anxiety. Journal of Happiness
depressive symptoms with positive

Studies, 1-33. https://doi.org/10.1007/ psychology interventions : A prac-
s10902-020-00236-6 tice-friendly meta-analysis. Journal
Lyubomirsky, S., Dickerhoof, R., Boehm, of clinical psychology, 65(5), 467-487.
J.K., & Sheldon, K.M. (2011). Becoming https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.20593
47
Exercise 5
Questions
1) What is the negativity bias in depression ?
2) How do Positive Psychology Interventions reduce depressive symptomatology ?
3) Overall, what is the overarching goal of Positive Psychology Interventions ?
6) An introduction to basic concepts

in psychoanalysis (Audio 6)
A short definition
Psychoanalysis contains a body of ideas developed by Sigmund Freud (1856-
1939) and continued or developed by others such as Alfred Adler (1870-1937),
Sandor Ferenczi (1873-1933), Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961), Melanie Klein (1882-
1960), Otto Rank (1884-1939) and Anna Freud (1895-1982). It is primarily devoted
to the study of human psychological functioning and behavior, although it can also
be applied to groups and to cultural phenomena such as societies and art (espe-
cially literature, cinema, sculpture and painting). According to its groundbreaking
inventor, psychoanalysis has the following three aims :
• investigating the human mind ;
• systematizing theory about human functioning and behavior ;
• treating psychological or emotional illness.
The main Freudian theoretical statements are :
1) sexuality in children and adults is important for an understanding of human
behavior ;
2) symptoms are failed attempts at self-healing ;
3) the patient history – past experience, especially in childhood – is essential for an
understanding of current problems ;
4) the unconscious can be encountered via dreams, “Freudian slips”, symptoms
and mistakes.
48
Main concepts (in alphabetical, not chronological order)

Defense mechanisms
In Freudian psychoanalytical theory, defense mechanisms are unconscious
psychological strategies brought into play to cope with reality and to maintain
self-image. Their purpose is to protect the ego from anxiety or social sanctions,
or to provide refuge from a situation it cannot currently cope with. Defenses are
not pathological in themselves, but may become so if they are persistent, frequent
or overgeneralized. According to Vaillant (1977), there are four levels of defense :
pathological, immature, neurotic, and mature.
Primitive defense mecanisms include denial, dissociation or projection, all of
them are common features of psychosis. Idealization is considered immature, more
often found during adolescence and in borderline patients. Repression is more
typical for neurotic functioning, whereas humour and sublimation are considered
mature, more highly-developed defenses. Freud believed that seeking relief and
protection, many people bury painful memories deep in their unconscious, and
that repression is therefore one key factor in the operation of the unconscious
and its defense mechanisms. In his dynamic model, dreams, symptoms, and slips
of the tongue break through the barrier of censorship and repression and open
access to the unconscious.
Drive
Freud stated that humans are driven by two conflicting central desires : the life
drive (libido/Eros; survival, procreation, hunger, thirst, and sex) and the death
drive (Thanatos). Freud’s description of Cathexis, whose energy is known as libido,
included all creative, life-producing drives. The death drive (or death instinct),
whose energy is known as anti-Cathexis, represented an urge inherent in all living
things to return to a state of calm : in other words, an inorganic or dead state.
Confronted with clinical and political evidence – the First World War brought
unequalled horror to Europe and many soldiers developed shell-shock and trau-
matic neurosis – Freud acknowledged the tendency for the unconscious to repeat
unpleasant experiences in order to desensitize the body. This tendency explains
why traumatic nightmares occur, as nightmares seem to contradict Freud’s earlier
conception of dreams as purely a site of pleasure, fantasy, and desire. The life-drive/
death-drive tension represented a revolution in Freud’s thinking.
49
Fantasy
Desire and fantasy are closely related. Desire has its origin in the experience and
anticipation of satisfaction. For Freud, if desire is articulated through fantasy, then
fantasy itself is a mediator between individuals and their wishes, anxieties, and the
difficulty of acting on desires in reality. Thus, daydreams and artistic activity have
a protective function for an individual confronted with harsh, mostly frustrating,
and sometimes unbearable, reality. For Freud, every fantasy and dream is to be
interpreted as a wish-fulfillment.
Oedipus complex
Considered universal by Freud, this complex is based on Sophocles’ tragedy
Oedipus Rex, where Oedipus kills his father and marries his mother. Freud states
that during their psychosexual development, children who have successfully gone
through the oral and anal stages will have to go through the phallic stage. This stage
involves intense love for the parent of the opposite sex and hatred and rejection of
the same-sex parental figure. Crucial for the individual’s libidinal development, the
process unfolds differently if the child is a boy or a girl. The boy, primarily attached
to his mother, perceives his father as a rival to be suppressed. His fear of being
castrated helps him to overcome this complex that achieves resolution when he
identifies with the feared/admired father and fully recognizes his mother’s sexual
inaccessibility.
For the little girl, things are even more complex. She first has to detach from
the primary love object, her mother, to turn to her father in order to ask him for
completeness. After being disappointed in her demand for a baby, she is supposed
to identify with the mother who was already her first love object. This double move-
ment and object change makes the development and clinical treatment of women
especially complicated. It is very important to understand that, in the girl’s Oedipus
complex, it is castration anxiety that leads her into the complex; whereas for the
boy it is the same anxiety that leads him out of it. Many obstacles may render the
resolution of this complex incomplete and are held responsible for suffering in the
professional and the love lives of future adults, both men and women.
Resistance
Resistance, as initially used by Freud, referred to patients blocking memories
from their consciousness. This was a key concept, since the primary treatment
method of Freud’s “talking cure” required making these memories available to the
patient’s consciousness. Later, Freud described five different forms of resistance :
• repression, e.g., reaction-formation, obsession, phobia (denial or avoidance) ;
50
• transference (projection) ;
• gain from illness (secondary gain) ;
• compulsion to repeat (acting out) ;
• sense of guilt or need for punishment (self-sabotage).
They became associated with various clinical structures such as psychosis and
neurosis. Over time, resistance came to mean anything a patient did to make
therapy, or a particular intervention, less effective.
Structural theory
In Beyond the pleasure principle (1920), Freud proposed his structural theory
(Id, Ego, Superego) according to which the Id is the impulsive, child-like portion of
the psyche that operates on the pleasure principle and only takes into account what
it wants, disregarding the consequences. The Ego has to reconcile pressures from
the Id, on the one hand, and the Superego on the other. The Superego is the moral
component of the psyche, stemming from internalized societal prohibitions and
identifications with the parents’ Superegos. Trying to follow the reality principle,
the rational Ego attempts a balance between the impractical hedonism of the Id
and the equally impractical moralism of the Superego ; it is the part of the psyche
that is usually reflected in a person’s actions. When overburdened or threatened
by its multiple inner and outer tasks, the Ego may employ defense mechanisms
including denial, repression, and displacement, or develop symptoms aiming – but
unfortunately without success – at self-healing, or at least withdrawing from the
unpleasant situation. The symptom’s adaptative and homeostatic functions have
to be fully recognized by the clinician before intervening.
Symptoms
Symptom formation is connected with Freud’s theory of Neurosis, in which there
is a conflict around sexual drives, repression, and the return of repressed material
in distorted form. He developed his groundbreaking theory mainly in Inhibition,
symptoms and anxiety (1926). The central idea is that the symptom expresses a
compromise between instinctual satisfaction and defense, fuelled by a dynamic
that always seeks homeostasis and self-healing.
How are we to analyze the formation and specific form of the symptom ? Both
clearly depend on the nature of the conflict : are we dealing with the threat of
castration, the loss of the object, narcissism at risk, or alienation ? Is it a case of
neurosis, depression, a borderline state, or psychosis ? It has rightly been pointed
out that, in this account, no symptom can exist independently of a corresponding
clinical entity and underlying structure.
51
Even when it is fully recognizable as a source of pain, the symptom is not a

problem in itself for the individual who has gradually adapted to it, and some-
times even clings to it for its primary and secondary benefits and the reassuring
continuity, solidity, and durability it offers. This complexity helps us to understand
why the symptom is so stable, as well as the fact that it enabled the temporary
resolution of a conflict.
The first and second topologies

Perhaps the most significant contribution Freud made to Western thought
was his argument concerning the impact of the unconscious on understanding
conscious thought and behavior. Contrary to popular belief, Freud did not actually
discover the unconscious – already present in various theories – but found a
genuine method to study it. The unconscious can be revealed by analyzing dreams
(which he called the “royal road to the unconscious”), Freudian slips, errors and
mistakes – and art, which for Freud was the product of sublimation. To illustrate
the latent logic of the unconscious mind, Freud developed his first topology of the
psyche in The interpretation of dreams (1900). He proposed that the unconscious
truly exists and functions according to strict and intelligible mechanisms, accessible
through interpretation. The preconscious was described as a layer, an interface
between conscious and unconscious thought; its contents could be accessed with
a little effort. Eventually, Freud completed the idea of the system unconscious
(Preconscious, Conscious, Unconscious) by the concepts of the Ego, Superego,
and Id.
Transference and counter-transference

As a key concept, transference refers to the redirection of a patient’s feelings for
a significant person towards the therapist. Transference is often manifested as an
erotic attraction towards the therapist, but can be seen in many other forms such
as rage, hatred, guilt or mistrust.
Countertransference is defined as redirection of the therapist’s feelings towards
the patient, or, more generally, as a therapist’s emotional entanglement with the
patient’s transference. Nowadays we know that therapists’ attunement to coun-
tertransference is nearly as critical as elaborating transference. Analyzing both
transference and contertransference is the crucial issue to reveal unresolved
conflicts patients have with figures from their childhood. In supervision, coun-
tertransference must be duly analyzed in order to become a technique and not an
obstacle in psychoanalytical treatment.
52

http://www.freud.org.uk : the web-site of history, theory), Selected Works, FAQ,
the Freud Museum in London, U.K., 20 Museums, Hypnosis.
Maresfield Gardens. www.freudfile.org/resources.html : this
www.freudpage.info : Sigmund Freud, website provide resources on Sigmund
Anna, Biography, Bibliography, Quotes, Freud, psychoanalytic and personal
Glossary, Psychoanalysis (definition, papers, correspondence, photos…
Exercise 6
Questions
1) What methods do psychoanalysts use to discover the contents of the
unconscious ?
2) Which of Freud’s concepts is closest to that of conscience ?
3) During which stage of psychosexual development does the Oedipal conflict
take place ?
4) Give three examples of defense mechanisms.
5) What name did Freud give to all life-producing drives ?
7) Anxiety disorders
What is anxiety ?
Defining the term “anxiety” is not as straightforward as we might think. It is regu-
larly associated with notions of fear and stress, and the meaning sometimes depends
on the language being used. For example, in French, “angoisse” and “anxiété” are
two distinct terms, the first referring to a somatic reaction and the second to
thoughts or cognitive manifestations of anxiety, whereas only the term “anxiety”
is required in English. The word “anguish” exists in English, but it is not used as
a diagnostic term.
Although considerable attention has been directed to defining anxiety, it still
appears difficult to find a consensus. Lewis (1970) defines it as “an emotional state,
with the subjectively experienced quality of fear as a closely related emotion”. Today
53
we may think of anxiety as any or all of : a trait, a state, a stimulus, a response, a

drive, and a motivation.
One famous author who worked on anxiety is Freud. Anxiety is one of the
foundations of his theory, and has three major aspects. First there is reality
anxiety, due to fear of a real object, and the desire to flee an objectively dangerous
stimulus. Second, there is a more subjective kind of anxiety (neurotic anxiety)
where perceived threats intrude on the field of consciousness. Finally there is
moral anxiety, created by conflicts between the Id’s desires and the Superego’s
prohibitions. As shown by Banovic and Pédinielli (listen to the audio version 13
of the text on the online resource called, “A psychiatric and psychopathological
approach to delirium and hallucinations”), this older view has been replaced
by approaches that describe symptoms or classify clusters of symptoms as
syndromes.
At present, the chances of experiencing neurotic anxiety (as Freud calls it) are
commonly seen as linked to a high predisposition to develop long-term anxiety
states. This directly parallels the view of Spielberger and colleagues (1966), who
are frequently cited for their multidimensional definition of anxiety in terms of
trait-anxiety and state-anxiety. Spielberger defined trait-anxiety as an individual’s
predisposition to respond in an anxious way, and state-anxiety as a transitory
emotion characterized by physiological arousal and consciously perceived feelings
of apprehension, dread, and tension. Reiss (1997) compared anxiety sensitivity
with trait-anxiety. Anxiety sensitivity is defined as “a specific propensity to respond
fearfully to the sensations of anxiety”.
What are anxiety disorders ?

Usually anxiety is a normal reaction, part of normal functioning which makes
it possible to deal with stressful situations. However, anxiety can also become
excessive and disabling. Anxiety disorders are among the most common psychiatric
disorders. They have high rates of comorbidity with other psychiatric disorders
and result in significant disability and decreased quality of life.
According to the DSM 5 (2015), there are three main categories of anxiety
disorders :
1) Anxiety Disorders (separation anxiety disorder, selective mutism, specific
phobia, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder).
2) Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders (obsessive-compulsive disorder).
3) Trauma and Stressor-Related Disorders (reactive attachment disorder, disin-
hibited social engagement disorder, PTSD, acute stress disorder, and adjustment
disorder).
54
Anxiety disorders include the following sub-categories :

a) Separation Anxiety Disorder is a diagnosis assigned to individuals who
have an unusually strong fear or anxiety concerning separation from those
to whom the individual is attached. The diagnosis is given only when the
distress associated with the separation is unusual for an individual’s deve-
lopmental level, is prolonged and severe. The need to stay in close proximity
to caretakers can make it difficult for children with this disorder to go to
school, stay at friends’ houses or be in a room by themselves. In adults it can
be linked to normal developmental activities like moving away from home,
getting married or being an independent person.
b) Selective Mutism is characterized by the failure to be able to speak in parti-
cular situations. When the child is in social situations, such as the classroom,
where he is expected to speak, he is unable to do so. However, he may be
able to talk while at home.
c) A Specific Phobia is an acute fear of an object. People with this disorder may
live quite functional lives, in spite of their fear of the target object. Someone
with a cat phobia may simply avoid cats or phone ahead when invited to
someone’s home to make sure that all pet cats are safely placed somewhere
where they will not arouse fear.
There is an endless number of objects in everyday life that can be a source
of phobias (see for example http ://phobialist.com). The following adapted chart
(Bourdon, 1988, Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 2, 227–241) shows the main phobias
encountered and how they rank in women and men. Among these, ordinary or
simple phobias are the most frequent. Specific phobias are found in 6-7% of the
general population.
55
Table 1 – Ranking by prevalence of individual phobias by sex
Women Men Phobias Name

a. Insects a. Acarophobia or Entomophobia
or Insectophobia
1 2 b. Mice b. Musophobia, Murophobia
or Suriphobia
c. Snakes c. Ophidiophobia or Snakephobia
Acrophobia, Altophobia, Batophobia,
2 1 Height
Hypsiphobia or Hyposophobia
3 5 Public transport Agoraphobia
4 6 Water Hydrophobia
5 11 Storm, thunder Brontophobia
6 3 Crowded public places Agoraphobia
7 4 Other fears
8 8 Enclosed spaces Claustrophobia
Tunnels, bridges or crossing
9 10 Gephyrophobia, Agoraphobia
them
To talk in front of a familiar
10 9 Social phobia
audience
11 14 To go out alone Agoraphobia
Autophobia or Monophobia
12 13 To stay alone, isolated
or Isolophobia
To keep at a safe distance
13 15
from dangerous animal
14 7 To talk with strangers Social phobia
15 12 To eat with familiar persons Social phobia
d) Social Anxiety Disorder consists of being excessively self-conscious, with a

fear of social rejection when observed and judged by others. Individuals with
social phobia are also embarrassed by situations where their performance is
evaluated (e.g., exams, sports competitions). When a forthcoming event is
experienced as threatening, people feel nervous and the autonomic nervous
system is activated, accelerating all the physiological processes associated
with the “fight/flight” response (sweating, increased pulse, shaking, etc).
People cognitively interpret their professional and personal experiences
as distressing and difficult. Fear of social situations can also cause panic
56
attacks. Social anxiety could concern specifically “performance”, that refers

to anxiety related to performing or speaking in public.
e) Panic Disorder : Like many people with anxiety disorders, individuals with
panic disorder usually adapt their lives to avoid experiencing high anxiety
levels. Meetings, travel, hobbies, pastimes, etc. are all arranged in such a way
as to avoid any recurrence of panic attacks. Lives become organized around
the perceived likelihood of another attack. People do not generally consult
a doctor or a psychologist when attacks occur – either because they are
worried about the stigma attached to a diagnosis, or because they attribute
the attack to something else, possibly another major physical or mental
disorder.
Panic disorder is characterized by sudden attacks of terror, with somatic mani-
festations like rapid heartbeat, sweating, weakness, dizziness, fear of losing
control and fear of dying. People who experience panic attacks often have a
sense of unreality, lose control of their breathing, and fear they will die from
lack of air. Panic attacks become panic disorder when they are repeated. The
duration of an attack is normally short, with symptoms peaking within the
first ten minutes. It is common for people with panic disorder to experience
other serious difficulties (e.g., depression, or other anxiety disorders, such as
social phobia or generalized anxiety disorder). In an attempt to cope with
fear and anxiety, drug or alcohol abuse is common, making the earliest
possible treatment a priority.
f) Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is an expanded state of anxiety that
impacts a person’s life almost totally. The main features of this disorder are
excessive worry, the tendency to anticipate a lot of things and to see every-
thing from a defeatist point of view.
2) Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is defined by the intrusion of recurring

obtrusive thoughts (obsessions), which lead to repetitive, unnecessary actions
(compulsions) that often become rituals, to regulate the anxiety induced by
the thoughts. People with this disorder may engage in a variety of behaviors to
reduce obsessive thoughts and anxiety. Some people are obsessed by the thought
of germs and tend to engage in excessive cleaning or grooming compulsions,
showering for many hours a day or repetitively washing their hands. Others may
engage in hoarding or counting rituals, trichotillomania also called hair-pulling
disorder that involves recurrent, irresistible urges to pull out hair from once
scalp, eyebrows or other areas of your body. Excoriation disorder (also referred
to as chronic skin-picking or dermatillomania) is characterized by repeated
picking at one’s own skin which results in skin lesions.
57
3) Trauma and stressor-related disorders have been set apart from anxiety disor-
ders. From a perspective of adult psychiatry this new disorder category includes
posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), acute stress disorder (ASD), and adjust-
ment disorders (AjD).
a) Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a particular disorder caused
by a stressful situation, e.g., an event which endangered a person’s life.
People relive the trauma in their thoughts, day and night, during flashbacks
consisting of powerful emotions, images, etc., and feel very anxious for some
months, or even years, after the event.
b) Acute stress disorder (ASD) is described as “the development of specific fear
behaviors that last from 3 days to 1 month after a traumatic event”. These
symptoms always occur after the patient has experienced or witnessed death
or threat of death, serious injury or sexual assault.
c) Adjustment disorders (AjD) is described as “the development of emotional or
behavioral symptoms in response to an identifiable stressor within three months
of onset”. This disorder may occur when stressful times in life from expected
or unexpected events cause an individual to be confused and disoriented, for
example losing a job, not knowing how to pay the mortgage on the house,
having been cheated on by a spouse, or being the victim of a sexual assault.
Anxiety is generally treated using both medication and psychotherapy, depen-
ding on the kind of disorder. Different types of antidepressants (selective serotonin
reuptake inhibitors – SSRIs, tricyclics, monoamine oxidase inhibitors – MAOIs),
anti-anxiety drugs (benzodiazepines, azapirone, benzoxazine. etc.), and beta-blockers
(propanolol, etc.) are used for the medical part of the treatment. In terms of psycho-
therapy, cognitive-behavorial therapy (CBT) has been found very useful. Individuals
are encouraged to cope with their anxiety-provoking thoughts by modifying their
attitudes or thoughts. The main technique is exposure combined with desensitization.

American Psychiatric Association (2013). Endler, N.S., & Kocovki, N.L. (2001). State
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of and trait anxiety revisited. Journal of
Mental Disorders. (DSM-V), American Anxiety Disorders, 15 (3), 231-245.
Psychiatric Association. Washington, The National Institute of Health (2009).
D.C. : Author. NIMH. Topic Anger : Anxiety Disorders.
Granger, B., & Azaïs, F. (2005). On line : http ://www.nimh.nih.gov/
Psychopathologie de l’adulte. Paris : health/publications/anxiety-disorders/
Masson. nimhanxiety.pdf, visited 11/24/2009.
58
Exercise 7
Questions
1) How is anxiety usually treated ?
2) What might be the diagnosis of someone who is obsessed by thoughts of germs
and keeps washing their hands ?
3) What is the difference between a panic attack and panic disorder ?
4) According to Freud, what is the cause of moral anxiety ?
5) Define agoraphobia.
8) Theory of mind
(Audio 8)
Theory of Mind (TOM) is a key element of social intelligence. It is the ability
to suppose the existence of mental states, such as intentions, feelings, beliefs or
emotions, in other people. It is also what enables us to focus our attention on,
and/or predict, other people’s behaviour. Shamay-Tsoory et al. (2007) distinguish
cognitive and affective TOM (knowledge, beliefs, and emotions, respectively), with
affective TOM particularly associated with the ability to empathize. Adopting
appropriate social behaviour therefore requires TOM skills. They involve deco-
ding mental states from perceivable social information, such as tone of voice, body
posture, or facial expressions. Another aspect is reasoning about a person’s mental
states by integrating contextual and background information about them.
A number of interpretations of TOM have been proposed, predominantly stem-
ming from the developmental literature. The “theory-theory” argues that our ability
to explain and predict behaviour is based on a theory of an innate or acquired
structure and functioning of the mind. Another theory put forward to explain
TOM is the “simulation theory”. Social understanding of mental life is thought

to occur through a process of imaginative simulation. This theory postulates that
assigning a mental state to somebody else is based on the ability to put oneself
in his or her place. The debate between these two theories is ongoing, although
nowadays it is more oriented towards the limits of these assumptions, and suggests
that mixed theories may be more satisfactory (Perner, 1996). Some contexts may
involve theorizing about other people’s minds, while others may require us to
imagine how we would feel. Modularity theorists suggest that these abilities may
lie in a specialized brain area.
59
The acquisition of TOM may be innate or learned : simulation could be based

on an innate genetic ability, or a child could develop and modify TOM in terms of
acquired information, or TOM could be an aspect of education and enculturation.
Perhaps TOM is acquired organically, through the development of an innate module
(a brain area specific to a particular application). Already at 14 months, children
develop joint attention (they understand when someone points at something) and
can see what other people are looking at by following their eyes. An 18-month old
child can understand other people’s desires, and that they may be in conflict with the
child’s. Children can understand pretend play, and the notion of cheating. At 3 to
4 years old, children begin to have a representation of other people’s intentions. At
four, a child acquires the ability to attribute mental states to someone else. Between
3 and 4 years old, s/he begins to understand that others may have a false conception
of the world. S/he becomes able to represent someone else’s mental states, going
beyond his/her own knowledge and perception of the immediate environment.
The famous “false belief” task (Wimmer & Perner, 1983) can be successfully
completed by a child of this age, who understands that somebody else’s mental
representation of the situation is different from theirs, and can predict their beha-
viour accordingly. At age 6, s/he acquires the skill of “complex mentalisation” : this
has been operationalised in experiments by the “second-order false belief task”,
where the child has to interpret “beliefs about beliefs”. At this age s/he can represent
the beliefs of different protagonists, and assess the relevance of one protagonist’s
beliefs about the state of mind of another.
More subtle interpretations of TOM, like problems solving “faux pas”, are
acquired at the age of 9 to 11. These tests explore children’s ability to understand
if someone has said something they should not have said, and whether the person
hearing it would be upset or hurt. Differing levels of complexity in these tasks allow
for clinical assessment of TOM ability impairment.
A specific deficit in mindreading is a central component of autism (Baron-
Cohen, 1995). Autistic children lack the intuitive understanding that others have
mental states. Most autistic children are unable to solve false belief tasks, or to
understand that someone is pretending or cheating. They cannot use gaze direction
to understand what others are looking at. They are also unable to judge emotions
or intentions from facial expressions. Autistic children do not represent others as
animate beings, or as having intentions. This deficit is constant and unchanging.
The central symptoms of autism (anomalies in social interaction, communication
and pretence) may perhaps be explained by a specific TOM deficit. Baron-Cohen
(1997) suggested that autism is the result of a congenital alteration of an innate
module for TOM.
60
However, children with better verbal skills and no learning difficulties, who fit
the diagnostic criteria for Asperger’s syndrome, show different abilities from those
with more severe forms of autism. They can do the false belief task, but not the
more sophisticated tasks. Thus, although TOM problems may explain the socia-
lisation deficits and communication problems seen in autism, it does not explain
other aspects. Perhaps TOM research in this area ought to be associated with other
mechanisms, such as the executive functions.
Frith and Frith (1988) pointed out that the problems seen in people with autism
in terms of social relationships, verbal and nonverbal communication, and imagina-
tion, are also present in schizophrenia. Unlike children with autism, schizophrenic
patients are able to attribute mental states to others until the onset of schizo-
phrenia during adolescence, when they lose the ability. Autism and schizophrenia
may both be related to abnormal development of the frontal lobes; the frontal
lobes are involved in motor function, problem-solving, spontaneity, memory,
language, initiation, judgement, impulse control, and social and sexual behaviour.
Building on Frith’s (1992) model, schizophrenic patients present impairments in
their representation of mental states. TOM deficiency is found in schizophrenia,
particularly when there is incoherent speech, or a disorganisation syndrome with
difficulty taking contextual information into account. However, the link between
these disorders and the overall symptomatology of the disease is not established
with any certainty. Inability to use intent-attributing TOM is recognized in some
particularly disorganised patients. So some patients interpret others’ behaviour
without regard for their mental state, and thus inappropriately. TOM deficit may
disappear during periods of remission from acute episodes.
Some studies have reported TOM deficiency in mood disorders (Sarfati et al.,
1997 ; Kettle et al., 2007), but results are contradictory. The deficiency is not present
in the same tasks, so it cannot involve the same processes. The TOM deficiency of
depressed patients shows a pattern of dysfunctional interpersonal interactions (fewer
social interactions, and negative feelings about them). There is TOM deficiency in
acute phases of illness (Kerr et al., 2003) and in periods of symptomatic remission
(Inoue et al., 2004). Depressed patients with TOM deficiency may be at high risk
of recurrence and inhibited social functioning a year after recovering from a major
depressive episode (Inoue et al., 2006). Performance in the “Eyes Task” does not vary
according to the seriousness of the depression, but is seriously impaired among those
with a high score for affective symptoms of depression (Lee et al., 2005).
The concept of TOM has become fundamental in psychopathology to explain
certain behavioural symptoms. Although TOM research is controversial, it has
contributed to the study of many areas, such as normal and pathological develop-
ment, communication and frontal lobe function.
61

Baron-Cohen, S. (1995). Mindblindness : An Smith, P.K. (eds.), Theories of Theories
essay on autism and theory of mind. of Mind. Cambridge : Cambridge
Cambridge, MA : The MIT Press. University Press, p. 90-104.
Frith, C.D. (1992). The Cognitive Shamay-Tsoory, S.G., Shur, S., Barcai-
Neuropsychology of Schizophrenia. Goodman, L., Medlovich, S., Harari, H.,
LEA : London. & Levkovitz, Y. (2007). Dissociation
Perner, J. (1996). Simulation as explicita- of cognitive from affective compo-
tion of predication-implicit knowledge nents of theory of mind in schizo-
about the mind : arguments for a simu- phrenia. Psychiatry Research, 149,
lation-theory mix, in Carruthers, P. & 11-23.
Exercise 8
Questions
1) At about what age do children generally begin to understand that other people
may not know something that they know ?
2) How is autism relevant to the theory of mind (TOM) ?
3) If you point at something, a dog will look at your finger. What does this show
about dogs and TOM ?
4) What is the difference between cognitive and affective TOM ?
5) How does schizophrenia affect TOM ?
9) Self-compassion and its effects

on mental health
What is self-compassion ?
The term “compassion” comes from the Latin compassion, which means “to
suffer with”. It was originally used in religion and philosophy to define the pursuit
of alleviating the suffering of others. Nowadays, compassion is a concept used in
psychology which includes two components, the motivation to act in a compassio-
nate way, and the skills to act and alleviate the suffering of others (Gilbert, 2010).
It can be directed towards other people, or towards oneself or it can be received
from someone else. Moreover, these three pathways can influence each other, as
62
receiving compassion can increase the likelihood of having compassion for oneself
(e.g., Breines & Chen, 2012). However, having compassion for others does not
automatically imply having compassion for oneself (Lopez et al., 2018).
• Compassion for others consists of being worried about the well-being of others
(Cosley et al., 2010). It is correlated with stronger social bonds (Cozolino, 2006),
and provides a sense of psychological and physical well-being to both the giver
and the receiver, making them feel closer to each other (Crocker & Canevello,
2008; Piferi & Lawler, 2006), as long as they also have compassion for themselves
without being exclusively in a devotional pattern towards others.
• Receiving compassion from others involves accepting help and perceiving the
other as a resource, a support, which has a protective effect on mental health
that can mitigate depression (Hermanto et al., 2016).
• Finally, self-compassion is the ability to address oneself with kindness, warmth
and benevolence (Neff, 2003). According to the author, self-compassion can be
considered as the union of the following three dimensions :
• Kindness, which involves adopting a warm and loving attitude in under-
standing a person’s difficulties.
• A sense of common humanity that favors seeing all experiences, even the
most painful, as universal in human experience.
• Mindfulness, and more specifically the acceptance of internal experiences such
as unpleasant thoughts, emotions and sensations, without trying to avoid them.
What self-compassion is not

Like empathy, self-compassion requires the recognition of someone else’s suffe-
ring, but it also involves tolerating one’s own emotional response to it and having
a motivation to act to alleviate the other’s suffering (Gilbert, 2010).
Unlike pity, which has a pejorative connotation today, such as being associated
with a form of condescension, self-compassion does not involve any judgment, and
requires a willingness to actively help the others in their suffering.

While self-esteem can be influenced by events and involves an evaluation of
oneself, self-compassion is always available and is unconditional.
The effects of self-compassion

Recently, research has focused on the effect of compassion in general or clinical
populations (see the meta-analysis by Inwood & Ferrari, 2018). Numerous studies
have shown that people with high levels of self-compassion have fewer psychological
63
disorders, higher levels of well-being, and greater resilience to withstand adver-

sity (Leary et al., 2007b ; Neff, 2003). It is therefore a protective factor for mental
health. Self-compassion can also be identified as an emotional regulation strategy,
associated with lower levels of depression, anxiety and stress (Finlay-Jones, 2017 ;
MacBeth & Gumley, 2012).
Theoretical basis of self-compassion

In the Buddhist tradition, experiencing suffering is a part of every human
being. Therefore, there is no reason to judge or blame ourselves for this suffering.
Likewise, we cannot escape it by trying to contain it, but compassion can relieve it.
It is understood here as feeling, understanding and intending to relieve suffering. In
evolutionary theory, compassion appears as an important affective state that allows
caring for and ensuring the survival of the most vulnerable, a valuable trait in the
choice of reproductive partners and a characteristic for developing cooperative
relationships between individuals.
Neurobiology has shown that compassionate states promote the release of
oxytocin. This hormone is related to prosocial behaviors and contributes to a
sense of security and connection in our relationships. It additionally helps reduce
stress and anxiety.
Finally, the parasympathetic nervous system, a component of the autonomic
nervous system, is considered to be crucial in compassion, through the activation
of the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve is also deemed the nerve centrally involved
in compassion. Indeed, by controlling heart rate, it is likely to induce a state of
calm encouraging affiliative and caring behaviors as it stimulates the vocal muscles
allowing communication (Di Bello et al., 2020).
Developing self-compassion, a therapeutic

approach to compassion
It has been demonstrated that it is possible to develop self-compassion and use
it as a therapeutic lever. Indeed, compassion-based interventions have been shown
to be effective in developing self-compassion and decreasing anxiety-depressive
symptoms and self-blame (e.g., Wilson, Mackintosh, Power & Chan, 2019).
Some compassionate interventions target the broader population. The main
ones are :
• Mindful Self-Compassion (Neff & Germer, 2013).
• Mindfulness-Based Compassionate Living (Van Den Brink & Koster, 2015).
64
• Mindfulness based on Compassion and Insight (Gheysen & Delamillieure, 2020).

Some have a psychotherapeutic purpose :
• Compassion-Focused therapy (TFC, Gilbert, 2010), which has demonstrated
effectiveness in clinical and non-clinical populations (Craig, Hiskey & Spector,
2020).
How does it work ?

Change relies on building a compassionate social mindset (Gilbert, 2014).
Through use of techniques such as calming breathing patterns, imagery or visua-
lization practices, mindfulness meditation, chair work, or gameplay, it is possible
to target dysfunctional transdiagnostic processes. These may include attentional,
cognitive, behavioral, or emotional over-identification with one’s own thoughts ;
rumination, difficulties with emotional identification and tolerance, or avoidance
behaviors.
In a nutshell, compassion appears to be a new core concept in the field of mental
health. As research has proven the effectiveness of compassion in preventing and
reducing mental health problems, an increasing number of programs have begun
to focus on the development of compassion and self-compassion. This represents
a very promising field of research and of clinical practice for the future.

Gheysen, F., Paucsik, M. et Delamillieure, Neff, K. & Germer, C. (2018). The Mindful Self-
P. (2022). La Thérapie Fondée sur la compassion Workbook. A Proven Way
Compassion (TFC) : principes et appli- to Accept Yourself, Build Inner Strength,
cations Pratiques. Elsevier. and Thrive. The Guilford Press.
Exercise 9
Questions
1) List the three pathways of compassion.
2) What are the two components of compassion ?
3) What is the difference between compassion and pity ?
4) Which hormone is strongly related to social behavior ?
5) Identify two techniques that contribute to improving compassion.
65
En lien avec ce texte et pour en savoir plus sur l’empathie, reportez-vous aux res-
sources en ligne. Voir le texte électronique 10 intitulé :
Empathy
D’autres thèmes de la psychologie clinique à découvrir dans les ressources
en ligne :
Pour en savoir plus sur l’addiction aux jeux vidéo, voir le texte électronique
11 et la version audio 11 intitulés :
Video game addiction : A real addiction ?
Pour en savoir plus sur l’image du corps et l’obésité, voir le texte élec-
tronique 12 et la version audio 12 intitulés :
Obesity and body image
Pour en savoir plus sur l’approche psychiatrique et psychopathologique du délire et des
hallucinations, voir le texte électronique 13 et la version audio 13 intitulés :
A psychiatric and psychopathological approach
to delirium and hallucinations
Pour en savoir plus sur le domaine des émotions, voir le texte élec-
Emotion
Pour en savoir plus sur l’accès à la parentalité par des femmes présentant des troubles
de la personnalité borderline, voir le texte électronique 15 intitulé :
The transition to parenthood in women with borderline personality disorders
66
Chapitre 2
Psychologie
du développement/
Psychology of lifespan
development
Sommaire
16) Rewarding and praising children (Audio 16 et Exercise 16) ......... 69
17) Promoting motivation and well-being at school :
a self-determination theory and a positive psychology perspective
(Damien Tessier & Colomba Van Wijnen) (Exercise 17) .................... 77
18) Emotional competences and academic performance (Exercise 18) . 81
19) Developmental trajectories in children
with visual impairment (Exercise 19) .............................................. 86
20) Preventing and reducing parental burnout (Exercise 20) ............... 89
21) The development of time perception in children
(Audio 21 et Exercise 21) ............................................................ 93
22) The impact of early mother-infant interaction on the development
of infant attachment (Audio 22 et Exercise 22) ......................... 98

23) Introduction to attachment theory (Audio 23)
24) Are macro-developmental Piagetian concepts relevant to describe
micro development ? (Exercise 24)
Film à retrouver dans les ressources en ligne :

Film 1 : Early attachment in childhood : links with adult relationship
patterns
Psychologie du développement/Psychology of lifespan development ■ Chapitre 2
The psychology of lifespan development provides a framework for understan-

ding human aging from infancy and childhood to adolescence and adulthood. Aging
is universal. Similar changes (milestones) in human behavior occur at about the
same age for all human beings. Paradoxically, even while respecting the common
milestones of aging, all individuals progress in their own unique way as a function of
the interactive effects of biology, personality, and social context. The main purpose
of theory and research in the study of development is to provide a context for the
description and explanation of the regular transformations that occur over time. In
general, theories contribute to the process of articulating meaningful patterns from
observations, while examining issues, such as disciplining and rewarding children,
and understanding how cognition changes over time. In this section, a variety of
topics related to behavior and development across the lifespan will be covered.
16) Rewarding and praising children

(Audio 16)
How may adults best encourage children to engage in more of the activities that
will be beneficial to them in the future ? Adults often want to support children in
being creative, learning to write, and engaging in altruistic acts, to mention just a
few such activities. Psychological theories have more than once inspired people in
this endeavor. Behaviorism led to token economy programs where children received
rewards such as stickers or tokens when they had completed their homework. In
the 1960s and 1970s, the focus on self-esteem led to a popular conception that
uncritical praise was the best way to encourage children.
But does reward and praise always have the desired effects ? A number of studies
have shown that reward and praise can actually have completely the opposite
effect. Children may end up engaging in much less of the desired behavior. In this
section, we examine positive feedback in the shape of praise through a series of

recent studies by Carol Dweck and her colleagues. In the audio version 16 called
“Rewarding and praising children”, we examine material rewards in a behaviorist
perspective, taking our point of departure in the now classic study by Mark Lepper
and his colleagues from 1973.
Pour la suite de cet article sur le role du conditionnement dans l’éducation des
enfants, reportez-vous aux ressources en ligne.
69
Voir le texte électronique 16 et la version audio 16 intitulés :

Rewarding and praising children
Children’s reactions to praise

The classic study by Lepper and his colleagues asked if material rewards would
necessarily benefit children in the universe of behaviorism. It inspired research on
other forms of positive feedback such as praise, and its significance for intrinsic
motivation. Carol Dweck of Stanford University asked the provocative question if
uncritical praise is always good for children.
Dweck and her colleagues conducted extensive research into the academic achie-
vement of children, adolescents, and young adults. In one line of research, they
investigated the consequences of the feedback that children received in preschool
or grade school (Dweck, 1999). They showed that there is a particular kind of feed-
back often used by adults that has far more negative consequences than intended.
Additionally, this kind of feedback may lead children to develop a negative view
of their own ability to master and learn difficult material.
Person-directed praise
Praise such as “Good girl”, or “You’re so clever”, could be characterized as
person-directed praise, and at an even more specific level, it could be termed
ability-directed or intelligence-directed. Positive feedback of this type should
be good for children’s self-esteem, from a merely intuitive point of view. When
children excitedly show the various things they have done, e.g., drawings, it is diffi-
cult not to praise them in this way. This intuition is supported by an informal social
movement which could be termed the self-esteem movement. Since the 1960s,
this movement has popularized the notion that high self-esteem is important for
children and adults alike. That is, everybody should have a positive view of their
own abilities, intelligence, looks, and personal qualities.
An informal pedagogical goal for the self-esteem movement is to try to provide
children with a sense of high self-esteem. Given this line of reasoning, it seems
obvious to praise children’s “self”. The sense that one can foster high self-esteem
in children is so deeply rooted, at least in parents’ minds in the US, that 85% of
the people asked by Dweck indicated that praise of children’s abilities is necessary
to achieve this goal.
There may be less of a tradition of praising children in strong and effusive
terms in northern than in southern Europe, but nevertheless it is not uncommon
70
to hear this type of praise. At the weekend soccer game, parents on the sidelines
are busy praising their children’s soccer abilities. At the Exploradome, adults do
not hold back with praise of their children’s intelligence when they solve scientific
puzzles. Even computer games for children have built-in feedback such as, “You’re
so smart”, when the children score points. This sense is backed up by research.
Existing research supports the notion that praise of children’s intelligence and
abilities leads to better performance, exactly as behaviorism would predict – at
least, as long as the tasks remain manageable for them.
Children, however, are apt to think further about the feedback they receive,
and this is where Dweck and her colleagues made a novel contribution. Perhaps
children reason that if a good drawing leads to them being called good and smart,
would a less successful drawing not lead to the opposite ? Even if children are never
called things such as stupid when the paint runs or they are slow to get dressed,
they might still form an informal theory that the quality of their performances is
linked to their worth as a person. Once children have formed such a “self-theory”
they may believe that a less successful performance makes adults think of them as
of lesser worth, if not downright stupid. Nobody likes the idea that they are stupid,
and so children reason that they had better stay on the safe side and avoid difficult
tasks. Playing it safe means that nothing can go wrong; one is sure to receive praise.
However, always playing it safe entails avoiding challenging tasks. To the extent
that one learns from mastering difficult problems, the consequence may be that
children do not learn as much as they should.
Process-directed praise
Not all forms of praise are directed at children’s selves, or intelligence or abilities.
Adults may praise the process that went into a certain product in many ways, e.g., “I
can see that you worked hard on this drawing”. In Dweck’s theoretical framework,
the assumption here is that children do not link their self-esteem directly with the
quality of a performance. Rather, this kind of praise entails an attitude, or theory,
that even difficult problems are solvable as long as one tries hard enough. Finally,
there is a third type of praise which is a combination of the two and which could
be termed product-directed praise, e.g., “What a nice drawing”. While this kind of
praise may evaluate the quality of the product, the evaluation is not directly coupled
with the person but rather with the result of the effort that went into the product.
However, for research purposes, Dweck and her colleagues focused on the types
at each end of the spectrum of praise.
71
Comparing Person and Process-directed Praise

Dweck and her colleagues investigated the consequences of the type of person-di-
rected praise that they term “intelligence-directed”, with process-directed praise
in a series of studies with children in 5th grade. The studies typically followed an
identical setup : all children were first given some easy tasks to solve. They were
then divided into two experimental groups which were given different kinds of
praise. One group received intelligence-directed praise such as, “You are really
smart”, and the other group received process-directed praise such as, “You have
worked hard on this”. Then followed the crucial test of the studies. All children
were given challenging tasks and their work process and their reactions to the
tasks were recorded on video. The researchers then judged from the tapes whether
children’s reactions to challenges depended on the type of praise they had received
for the easy tasks.
Results from the 5th graders showed that everybody was equally engaged in
and equally successful at the easy tasks. Thus, there were no differences between
the groups before they received the two types of feedback. However, when they
were facing challenges, there were considerable differences between the groups.
Children who had received intelligence-directed praise quickly gave up, were not
successful at solving the tasks, and expressed that they did not enjoy doing the
tasks. The children who had received process-directed praise spent more time
on the tasks, were more successful at solving them, and even expressed that they
enjoyed working on the challenges.
The results thus showed that intelligence-directed praise led to giving up, if not
outright helplessness, when faced with challenges, whereas process-directed praise
led to behaviors characterized by an “I can do it!” attitude and a sense of mastery.
In the follow-up studies, Dweck and her colleagues showed that the phenomenon
applies across genders, ethnic groups, geographical regions such as rural versus
city areas, and across different types of tasks.
Even down to preschool age, Dweck showed that person-directed praise
led children to give up sooner when faced with challenging tasks. In contrast,
process-directed praise led children to want to persevere and spontaneously
provide suggestions for how to solve the challenging tasks.
72
Two types of criticism

What about the other side of the coin, that is, when feedback consists of criti-
cism rather than praise ? Dweck and her colleagues also investigated preschool
children’s reaction to negative feedback. Criticism, in fact, can be conveyed in a
constructive manner, for example by embedding it in a process-directed frame,
such as : “This didn’t seem to work. Perhaps you could think of a different way to do
it ?” But criticism can also be directed at the person, such as, “I’m disappointed in
you!” Or, “I don’t think you are able to do this”. According to Dweck’s theory, this
latter form of person-directed criticism does not make children want to try harder.
On the contrary, it leads to a sense of helplessness.
In their actual studies, Dweck and her colleagues did not wish children of
preschool age to hear criticism aimed directly at their person. It would not be
ethical to use statements such as “You are no good at this”. Instead, the study
cleverly set up a situation where children where asked about the reactions of
puppets who had been criticized. The procedure otherwise remained the same as
in the above studies. Children first witnessed that the puppets solved some easy
tasks. Then the puppets received the two different kinds of criticism for their
performance on the easy tasks. And then the puppets were given the difficult tasks.
Children were asked how the puppets dealt with the challenges and were asked to
report the reactions of the puppets.
As predicted, the results showed that process-directed criticism made children
report that the puppets wanted to overcome the challenges. In other words, their
attitudes were a constructive consequence of the criticism. In contrast, person-di-
rected criticism made children attribute a helpless attitude to the puppets. Dweck
concludes that just as was the case for praise, criticism works best when children
do not feel that their self-esteem is being questioned. This is an important point,
but not nearly as paradoxical as Dweck’s groundbreaking insight that praise may
have unintended consequences.
Discussion of the results

The studies on feedback must be discussed in a behaviorist perspective. Existing
studies do show that material rewards may increase motivation. Similarly, studies
also show that positive feedback such as praise may increase children’s motivation
to solve tasks. When this is the case, why is it that Dweck and her colleagues could
show that praise may lead to diminished motivation ? Dweck provides a more
high-resolution way of thinking about positive feedback. She proposes that it is
73
only when tasks are too challenging for children to master right away that they give
up after person-directed feedback. Past research has not distinguished between
attitudes to easy and difficult tasks. The effects of different types of praise have
probably gone unnoticed. The paradox that praise can lead to diminished moti-
vation in the face of particularly challenging tasks further corroborates Dweck’s
proposition that it is the threat to self-esteem, in the shape of fear of failure, that
explains her findings.
Dweck focused on two clear types of positive feedback, i.e., person, and
process-directed praise. However, one can also identify combinations of the two,
such as product-directed praise. Are children in real life ever exclusively exposed
to person-directed praise which leads them to feel that they risk their sense of
self-worth when engaging in challenges that are too difficult ? This is unlikely, but
it is equally unlikely that children dissect in detail which impression to take way
away from all the kinds of praise they receive. It is more likely that praise from key
persons such as parents or one’s favorite teacher has a higher impact than praise
from more peripheral people. It may also be the case that there are singular episodes
of challenge and feedback that stand out and cause children to form a particular
view of praise, or, in Dweck’s terms, a particular self-theory.
Implications of the results

When one is around children of preschool and early grade school age, an obvious
implication of Dweck’s research is to cut back on person-directed praise and instead
provide process-directed praise along the lines of “I can see that you put a lot of
work into combining the yellow and the blue paint so that it became green”. But
providing process-directed praise is easier said than done. While doing research at
Bing Nursery School on Stanford campus, the present author found that observing
the local ethos of not providing person-directed feedback was in itself a challenge.
Such an ethos certainly makes sense because of Lepper’s original findings, but it
is also sensible from a didactic point of view. If a preschool teacher starts praising
children in a person-directed way, one may quickly end up with a group of children
on the playground who are all shouting, “Look at me, look at me”. This, of course,
is not a way to encourage children to engage in productive play on their own.
Despite the good reasons to provide process-directed praise, the present author
nevertheless found it difficult to wean himself from person-directed praise. It
actually requires effort and time on the part of the adult to visualize the process the
child undertook to arrive at a certain product and then comment on it. It is much
easier to utter the more automatic “Good girl”. Additionally, one has the feeling of
74
trying to suppress one’s immediate sense of awe as one is often truly impressed by
children’s productions. So by providing process-directed feedback, one may feel
a little less spontaneous than one would otherwise be. In turn, children’s reaction
to process-directed feedback may even be one of disappointment, partly because
they expect something else, and partly because they already know how they mixed
the colors for the painting. In fact, they may look surprised not to be met with
“Good girl”. However, even in the short term, there are advantages to cutting back
on person-directed praise. The atmosphere becomes much more relaxed when
one is less evaluative towards the children. And in the long term, Dweck’s results
indicate that one avoids promoting an atmosphere where children are afraid to
invest themselves in unknown and challenging tasks.
Conclusion
Children are probably exposed to much worse things than reward and praise,
if we look at Dweck’s results in a larger perspective. Nevertheless, her well-docu-
mented theoretical and empirical work may draw our attention to the fact that
the self-esteem movement’s effusive praise of children’s self and abilities may not
prepare them well for future challenges. In contrast, comments about the process
and effort behind children’s performances, e.g., during the visit to the Exploradome
or at the soccer match, may build resilience to adversity.

Dweck, C.S. (1999). Self-Theories : Their motivation with extrinsic reward : A
Role in Motivation, Personality, test of the “overjustification” hypo-
and Development. Philadelphia : thesis. Journal of Personality and
Psychology Press. Social Psychology, 28, 129-137.
Henderlong, J., & Lepper, M.R. (2002). The Thorndike, E.L. (1911). Animal Intelligence,
effects of praise on children’s intrin- MacMillan.

sic motivation : A review and syn- Warneken, F., & Tomasello, M. (2008).
thesis. Psychological Bulletin, 128, Extrinsic rewards undermine altruis-
774-795. tic tendencies in 20-month-olds.
Lepper, M.R., Greene, D., & Nisbett, R.E. Developmental Psychology, 44,
(1973). Undermining children’s intrinsic 1785-1788.
75
Exercise 16
Fill in the blanks with the best term from the choice of terms given.
List of terms
(a) self-esteem - (b) process-directed praise - (c) helplessness - (d) person-directed
criticism - (e) product-directed praise - (f) token economy - (g) person-directed
praise - (h) process-directed criticism (Note : two terms are used twice)

A (1) .................. program is used to give children rewards such as stickers or
tokens for completing tasks or homework. A focus on (2) .................. in the 1960s
and 70s led to the idea that uncritical praise promoted self-esteem. Studies have
shown that uncritical reward and praise can actually have a negative impact on
self-esteem. Praise such as “Good boy”, or “You’re so smart”, could be characterized
as (3) ................... When children constantly hear this type of praise they may come
to believe that a less successful performance makes adults think of them as not
“good” or “smart”. They may avoid taking risks and not attempt to master difficult
challenges. Children can also receive (4) .................. such as, “You worked hard on
that problem”. An example of the combination of the two types of praise, called
(5) .................. would be, “What a nice drawing”. Different types of praise were
directed at children facing challenges. Children who had received (6) ..................
quickly gave up, were not successful at solving tasks, and expressed that they did not
enjoy doing the tasks. Children who had received (7) .................. spent more time on
tasks, were more successful at solving them, and even expressed that they enjoyed
working on the challenges. Similarily, according to Dweck’s theory, (8) ..................
such as, “That solution does not seem to work, can you try another one ?” led to
continuing to try hard to master challenging tasks while (9) .................. did not make
children want to try harder. On the contrary, it led to a sense of (10) ...................
76
17) Promoting motivation and well-being at school :

a self-determination theory and a positive
psychology perspective
A large body of the scientific literature shows that scholastic motivation sharply
declines in the transitions to middle and high school (Lepper, Corpus, & Iyengar,
2005), and that teenagers display an increasing prevalence of internalizing (anxiety,
depression) and externalizing symptoms (aggressiveness, hyperactivity) (Bornstein,
Hahn, & Haynes, 2010 ; Woods, & Pooley, 2015). This general trend is observed in
all industrialized countries, but surveys of educational systems reveal significant
differences among OECD countries on indicators of motivation, well-being, and
academic achievement. These surveys tend to show that France occupies a singular
position, at the very bottom of the scale (for a synthesis of these reports, see Algan,
Dehaene, Huillery, & Pasquinelli, 2021). For example, the last two editions of the
PISA survey indicate that French student’s indices of scholastic motivation, sense
of belonging at school, and teacher support are in the last third of the OECD
countries (OECD, 2015 ; 2018). They also reveal that compared to students from
countries with comparable economic levels (i.e., Germany, USA, and northern
European Countries), French students report higher levels of anxiety, and lower
measures of self-confidence, internal locus of control and perseverance in mathe-
matics (OCDE, 2015 ; 2018).
To overcome this situation, educational psychology research on positive psycho-
logy (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000) and self-determination theory (Ryan
& Deci, 2017) proposes promising perspectives that this article aims to explore.
Positive psychology and well-being

At the turn of the 21st century, Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi (2000) published
a seminal article calling for more research and interventions on well-being, which
led to the emergence of a new movement within psychology : Positive Psychology.

Positive Psychology focuses on the characteristics of human nature and the mecha-
nisms that lead to successful adaptation, resilience, and well-being (Seligman and
Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). Two types of well-being are often described in positive
psychology research : subjective well-being and psychological well-being. Subjective
well-being refers to an affective and cognitive evaluation of our own existence
that is characterized by habitual experience of positive affects (joy, pleasure, grati-
tude…), a low level of negative affect (anxiety, depression, culpability…), and a high
level of satisfaction with life (Kahneman et al., 1999). Psychological well-being
77
relies more on an existential and non-hedonic conception, including dimensions

such as self-acceptance, personal growth, finding meaning in life, environmental
control, autonomy, and positive relationships.
Within this movement, positive education represents the integration of positive
psychology in the educational context. It is defined as an approach to education
wherein the development of life skills is targeted in the same way as traditional
academic skills. In this vein, positive psychology interventions (PPI) are programs,
practices, and activities based on scientific evidence (Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009)
that have been developed to cultivate students’ and teachers’ well-being. These
PPI promote students’ well-being by developing character strengths, mindfulness,
gratitude and positive relationships.
• Character strengths refer to : “the inherent psychological traits that students
are naturally good at, leading to optimal functioning or performance in desired
outcomes” (Govindji & Linley, 2007).
• Mindfulness is the “state of present-moment awareness that emerges through
paying deliberate attention, without judgement, to one’s moment-by-moment
experiences” (Kabat-Zinn, 1996).
• Gratitude has been defined as : “a sense of thankfulness and joy in response to
receiving a gift, whether the gift be a tangible benefit from a specific other or a
moment of peaceful bliss evoked by natural beauty” (Emmons, 2004).
• Positive relationships are here defined as supportive interactions and cooperation
with both teachers and students.
In essence, findings from the literature show that PPI promote both students’
well-being and their academic achievement (Shankland & Rosset, 2017 ; Tejada-
Gallardo, Blasco-Belled, Torrelles-Nadal, & Alsinet, 2020 ; Waters, 2011). However,
if they are effective at promoting student well-being, they are not enough so to
improve school engagement and motivation. An intervention targeted on the key
determinants of motivation – such as proposed by Self-Determination Theory –
and of engagement must be considered as well.
Self-determination theory
Self-determination theory (SDT, Ryan & Deci, 2017) is a theory of human
motivation that conceives of motivation as a “qualitative” construct. This
approach thus differentiates several forms of motivation, which are situated
on a continuum going from the most controlled to the most self-determined or
autonomous motivational regulations. Three types of regulation constitute the
autonomous motivation : intrinsic (i.e., performing an activity for the pleasure
78
and/or for the satisfaction it procures in itself), integrated (i.e., performing an

activity because it is consistent with the individual’s values) and identified (i.e.,
performing an activity because it is judged important for the achievement of
personal goals). Two types of regulations are deemed to constitute controlled
motivation : introjected (i.e., performing an activity under pressure as in the
feeling of being “forced” to do things, or culpability for not doing them), and
external (i.e., performing an activity for rewards or praises, or to avoid punish-
ment). Controlled and autonomous motivations correspond to two forms of
distinct motivation : the second of which leads to more positive consequences
than the first one. Next to these two forms of motivation, the theory also contem-
plates the existence of an “amotivation” state. This is felt when the individual
manifests no motivation for an activity, neither autonomous, nor controlled.
Research shows that autonomous regulation for an activity positively predicts
self-esteem, higher intensity and commitment, higher level of concentration,
and better grades. On the other hand, controlled regulation and amotivation are
associated with decreased effort and commitment in class, and negative affects
such as boredom and sadness (see Howard, Bureau, Guay, Chong, & Ryan, 2021,
for a review).
According to the SDT, the quality of the motivation affecting individual behavior
results from the satisfaction degree of three basic psychological needs : autonomy
(i.e., the need to experience a sense of choice and freedom to engage in an activity),
competence (i.e., the need to feel able to effectively perform challenging tasks),
and relatedness (i.e., the need to feel connected to others, to receive attention
from important people, and to belong to a social group). According to the SDT,
environmental and social factors, such as teacher motivational style, will affect
individual motivation and behavior through the satisfaction or frustration of these
three psychological needs. Precisely, the motivational style adopted by a teacher is
characterized by three bipolar dimensions, which support or threaten these basic
psychological needs :
• Autonomy support (e.g., being positive, flexible, and acknowledging difficulties

by giving more explanations) vs. control or coercion (e.g., being hurried, taking
charge of everything and being negative).
• Structure (e.g., fixing goals to be achieved, determining the means to achieve
them, and giving clear instructions) vs. chaos (e.g., expectations and instructions
are unclear, no opportunities to learn or feel competent are proposed).
• Interpersonal implication (e.g., affection, inclusion, trust, and care are expressed
in a warm, consistent, and unconditional way) vs. hostility (e.g., being cold,
distant, or careless with students).
79
The literature shows that a teacher’s motivational style which supports students’
psychological needs has positive effects : greater autonomous motivation, decreased
amotivation, increased commitment, more positive emotions in learning, and the
use of conceptual learning strategies (vs. superficial; see Reeve & Cheon, 2021, for
a review).
Combining these two approaches in a professional development for teachers
might offer a promising perspective towards promoting both teacher and student
motivation and well-being may be a promising perspective. This was the aim of
the Promoting students’ Motivation and well-BEing project (ProMoBE, Tessier,
Ginoux, & Shankland, 2022). The preliminary results are encouraging and show
that the program is effective at improving students’ well-being (i.e., their school
satisfaction) and their autonomous motivation in school. It also demonstrates a
greater need for supportive motivational styles and higher levels of professional
commitment from teachers.

Howard, J.L., Bureau, J., Guay, F., Chong, Seligman, M.E.P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M.
J.X.Y., & Ryan, R.M. (2021). Student (2000). Positive psychology : An intro-
Motivation and Associated Outcomes : A duction. American Psychologist, 55(1),
Meta-Analysis From Self-Determination 5-14.
Theory. Perspectives on Psychological Shankland, R., & Rosset, E. (2017). Review
Science, 174569162096678- of Brief School-Based Positive
174569162096678. https://doi. Psychological Interventions : A
org/10.1177/1745691620966789 Taster for Teachers and Educators.
Reeve, J., & Cheon, S. H. (2021). Autonomy- Educational Psychology Review,
supportive teaching : Its malleability, 29(2), 363-392. https://doi.org/10.1007/
benefits, and potential to improve s10648-016-9357-3
educational practice. Educational Tessier, D., Ginoux, C., & Shankland (Under
Psychologist, 56(1), 54-77. https://doi. Review). Promoting Motivation and
org/10.1080/00461520.2020.1862657 Well-Being at School : The effect
Ryan, R.M., & Deci, E.L. (2017). Self- of a teacher training combining a
determination theory : Basic self-determination theory-based
Psychological Needs in Motivation intervention and positive psychology
Development and Wellness. New York : interventions.
Guilford Publishing, Guilford Press.
80
Exercise 17
List of terms
(a) Positive Psychology - (b) surveys - (c) motivation - (d) framework -
(e) commitment - (f) prevalence - (g) belonging - (h) mindfulness
- (i) relatedness - (j) frustration

Many research studies have emphasized that scholastic (1) .............. and enga-
gement in academic learning decline during transitions to middle and high school
and that adolescents show a rising (2) .............. of internalizing (anxiety, depression)
and externalizing (aggression, hyperactivity) symptoms. France is no exception
to this trend : recent (3) .............. of educational systems highlighted that French
students’ indices of scholastic motivation, sense of (4) .............. to school, and
teacher support are in the last third of the OECD countries. From this perspective,
there has been an increase in school-based prevention and intervention programs
grounded in the (5) .............. movement, as well as in Self-Determination Theory
(SDT). Positive Psychology promotes student well-being by developing character
strength, (6) .............., gratitude and positive relationships. The SDT theoretical
(7) .............. posits that each student has three basic psychological needs, auto-
nomy, competence and (8) ............... According to SDT, environmental and social
factors, such as teacher motivational style, will affect individual motivation and
behavior through the satisfaction or (9) .............. of these three psychological needs.
The literature shows that a teacher’s motivational style which supports students’
psychological needs has positive effects : greater autonomous motivation, decreased
amotivation increased (10) .............., more positive emotions in learning, and the
use of conceptual learning strategies.
18) Emotional competences

and academic performance
Emotional competencies refer to differences in the way individuals (children or
teachers) perceive, express and listen to emotions, use emotions (in particular to "faci-
litate thinking") and understand and manage their own emotions as well as those of
81
others (MacCann et al., 2020 ; Mikolajczak, Quoidbach, Kotsou, & Nelis, 2020). These

abilities (Table 2) represent a set of effective and functional resources that enable
us to adapt to the environment. They are therefore essential to the psychological
development of the student and should be taught (Richard, Gay & Gentaz, 2021).
Table 2 – The four domains of emotional competencies to be developed in students

and the teacher (adapted from Richard et al., 2021)
Targeted competencies Abilities
– Identifying emotions in external stimuli (i.e. in others
through facial expressions, language and other stimuli such
as visual arts and music).
– Identifying one’s own emotions (internal stimuli, physical
states, feelings and thoughts).
Emotion perception – Expressing one’s own emotions accurately.
– Distinguishing between genuine, misleading and forced
emotional expression.
– Distinguishing between genuine, deceptive and forced
emotional expression, knowing the rules for expressing
emotions in different cultures and contexts.
Emotional facilitation – Using emotions or emotional information as input or
of thought assistance in cognitive tasks or decisions.
– Knowing the vocabulary of emotions.
– Knowing the antecedents and consequences of emotions, in
particular distinguishing between the cause and the trigger
of an emotion.
Emotion understanding – Knowing how emotions combine (complex and mixed
emotions) and change over time (e.g., transition from anger
to satisfaction).
– Knowing the likely effect of a specific situation on current or
future emotions (affective forecasting).
– Regulating one’s own and others’ positive and negative
emotions, up-regulation (e.g., increasing curiosity or sadness
Emotion regulation to convey a concept) and down-regulation (e.g., decreasing
fear of a test or joy to improve concentration), to achieve a
desired outcome.
However, although the study of emotional and affective processes in learning is

not new, with for example the concepts of “punishment” and “reward”, the role of
emotions in the school context has remained relatively unstudied for many decades.
Currently, emotions, and especially support for the development of emotional
competences, are of great interest in the field of intervention research (Sprung,
Münch, Harris, Ebesutani, & Hofmann, 2015).
82
Emotions and school success : explanatory mechanisms

Many studies show that being “emotionally competent” is essential for academic
success (MacCann et al., 2020). According to certain researchers, emotional compe-
tencies are among the most important competencies at school (along with cognitive
competencies) and among those that support students’ academic competencies
in early grades (Denham et al., 2014). Two types of evidence are provided : those
based on a cross-sectional approach and those based on a longitudinal approach.
For example, using a cross-sectional design, Cavadini, Richard, Dalla-Liberaz,
and Gentaz (2021) conducted a study on 706 pupils aged 3 to 6 years old and
revealed that a good ability for understanding emotions contributed to better school
performance in mathematics. Moreover, emotional skills are crucial for students
to interact and form relationships with others. Using a longitudinal design, Izard
et al. (2001) showed that students’ knowledge of their emotions at age 5, and more
specifically the ability to detect and label emotional signals, facilitated positive social
interactions and predicted their social skills and academic performance at age 9.
Some research has also highlighted the importance of expressing and sharing
positive emotions in initiating and regulating social exchanges, and communication
during socially directed acts. Conversely, expressing negative emotions in an inap-
propriate manner may be more problematic during social interaction. Preschoolers
who exhibit a high proportion of negative emotions, particularly anger, may be
perceived by teachers and peers as difficult and disruptive.
In sum, emotional competence is an important predictor of a child’s ability to
function in the social and academic world early in schooling (Denham et al., 2012).
There are various reasons why these skills may influence a child’s academic success.
According to MacCann et al. (2020), one reason is due to the fact that students
with greater emotional skills would be better able to regulate negative emotions
such as anxiety, boredom or disappointment about their school performance. A
second reason is that students (especially younger ones) need support from adults
and peers in order to learn and develop in an optimal way. Thus, students who are
more emotionally competent would better manage the social world in which they
live, forming better relationships with their teachers, peers and family. This ability
to better manage social relationships would thus indirectly influence the children’s
success at school by providing a “social support network” that would protect them
in times of stress and support them when they are confronted with a new lear-
ning situation requiring the help of an expert (e.g., peer or teacher). Thus, many
academic and social benefits could be enhanced if these emotional competencies
were an integral part of everyday classroom teaching practices.
83
Promoting children’s emotional competencies through training

Teachers can intentionally teach and enhance emotional competencies using
evidence-based programs. These programs generally correspond to a series of
workshops that propose experiential activities focused on the different emotional
competencies’ reinforcement (Sprung et al., 2015). These programs can be
implemented in a general education classroom during a regular school day with
opportunities to reinforce concepts throughout the entire day. To promote
the development of emotion perception, teachers can invite children to match
emotional expressions (such as emoticons) with words, to draw facial expres-
sions, to mime and recognize emotional expressions mimed by other children
or to label common emotions. Explicitly introducing emotion vocabulary and
providing children with a large number of different emotion words will also help
them manage their emotions. To promote emotion understanding, teachers can
teach children to label different experiences with the emotion they cause, and
invite them to share their own experiences with different emotions. Participating
in discussions about emotions can help children to link expressions, situations and
words into coherent scripts about emotional experience. Teachers can also use
movies or books to invite children to talk about the various emotions the charac-
ters experience. Questions such as : “How do you think the character felt ?”, “Why
do you think the character feels this or these emotions” ? or “How would you feel if
you were this character ?”, support children’s understanding of emotions and can
encourage them to develop empathy. To promote emotion regulation, teachers
can train children to positively express their emotions using “I feel” statements
and invite children to practice expressing themselves with a partner orally as well
as through writing and drawings.
Finally, pretend play-based training can also be designed to promote the develop-
ment of socio-emotional competences. Richard et al. (2020) examined 79 children
aged 5 to 6 years who were evaluated before and after a pretend play-based trai-
ning. The experimental group (39 children) received this programme on emotion
comprehension, negative emotion regulation, and prosocial behaviours one hour
per week for eleven weeks during class hours, while the control group (40 children)
received no specific intervention. The programme was implemented by 5 teachers.
The results showed improvements in the ability to understand emotions in children
who benefited from the training. These findings are discussed in the broader
context of using this form of play as a privileged pedagogical tool to allow children
to develop these competencies.
84

Cavadini, T., Richard, S., Dalla-Liberaz, N. et Richard, S., Baud-Bovy, G., Clerc-Georgy,
al. (2021). Emotion knowledge, social A., & Gentaz, E. (2020). The effects
behaviour and locomotor activity pre- of a “pretend play-based training”
dict the mathematic performance in 706 designed to promote the develop-
preschool children. Sci. Rep., 11, 143-199. ment of emotion comprehension,
MacCann, C. et al. (2020). Emotional emotion regulation and prosocial
intelligence predicts academic behavior in 5-6-year-old Swiss child-
performance : A meta-analysis. ren. British Journal of Psychology,
Psychological Bulletin, 146, 150-186. 1, 1.
Exercise 18
Select the appropriate ending for each sentence.
Sentences
1) Students need support from adults and peers in order to…
2) Many academic and social benefits could be enhanced if…
3) Teachers can intentionally teach and enhance emotional competences using…
4) Programs can be implemented in a general education classroom…
Endings
a) these emotional competencies were an integral part of everyday classroom
teaching practices.
b) during a regular school day with opportunities to reinforce concepts
throughout the entire school day.
c) evidence-based programs.
d) learn and develop in an optimal way.
85
19) Developmental trajectories in children

with visual impairment
Systematic observations of the development of visually impaired children, in
particular congenitally blind children, were initiated by Selma Fraiberg from the
1960s. She documented systematic individual differences in most early acquisitions.
From birth, the absence of vision can induce developmental particularities that
impact the rate of acquisition of skills in several areas. When researchers compare
the development of visually impaired children to those of sighted children of the
same age, it is observed that a certain number of visually impaired children present
more or less massive delays. Some children may experience serious developmental
impediment autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Risk factors have been identified
and help to understand this variability.
Developmental delay in visually impaired children

Visually impaired children often show delays throughout the pre-school period,
particularly in relation to the development of gestures, motor skills, language, play,
and theory of mind.
Several reports have suggested that visual impairment impacts the acquisition of
psychomotor skills. From birth, lack of vision reduces the possibility of movement
and motor activity but also the exploration of one’s own body. Specifically, blind
children exhibit delayed postural control, late acquisition of fine and gross motor
skills, as well as locomotor skills. The acquisition of walking, an activity allowing
the child to discover the surrounding world, also has an atypical development with
a later acquisition compared to sighted children.
With regard to gestures, it has been observed that in the blind child the
proportion of communication containing gestures is relatively low throughout
longitudinal observations. The absence of gestures to show or offer is noted in
the prelinguistic period. For some researchers, this particularity is linked to the
delayed acquisition of language because, in the early stages of language acqui-
sition, children use both speech and gesture in their attempts to communicate.
Indeed, some visually impaired children learn to speak later than sighted children.
Likewise, there is evidence of a specific language delay in the use of personal
pronouns, and the problem of pronoun reversal. Other researchers have docu-
mented differences in the use of words, noting the use of “self-centred” language
(a tendency to mention her personal experiences, to describe her own actions,
86
her own intentions and her emotive reactions) and a very limited use of descrip-
tions (see Pérez-Pereira & Conti-Ramsden, 2019).
Play is a fundamental component of a child’s cognitive, social and emotional
development. Several studies also report a delay in the development of skills related
to play because visual impairment restricts access to social and/or non-social
information. As a result, we find in some children a delay in the appearance of
functional play (using objects in a conventional way : rolling a car, throwing a ball)
and symbolic play (the child invents imaginary situations, such as pretending to
do something or to be someone : such as using a bottle as an airplane or setting
up a pretend dinner).
Finally, studies show a lack of social engagement as well as difficulties with Theory
of Mind (TOM) in blind children. TOM is the mental capacity to infer one’s own
and others’ mental states and to understand them (see text number 8). This skill
is essential to the regulation of behavior as well as to the development of social
interactions. The results of several studies on false belief tasks are unanimous that
blind children produce lower theory of mind scores than sighted children. These
studies therefore indicate that blind children acquire this ability later than sighted
children. These results are supported even when researchers use false belief tasks
based on tactile or auditory experience, in addition to a classical visual task. This
indicates that visual cues therefore play a role in recognizing the intentions of others.
Most of these delays disappear at school age, which suggests that vision impacts
the rate at which certain skills are acquired. In addition, almost all delays are
observed in children with blindness. Despite this, a number of blind children do
not show any developmental deficits. This indicates the absence of vision is not the
only factor that may explain the atypical development of some children.
Developmental setback in visual impairment

Studies have highlighted a developmental setback phenomenon characterized by
developmental regression or stagnation (Dale and Soken, 2022). This phenomenon
is observed after a period of normal development and emerges between the ages
of 15 and 27 months. In children with visual impairments, regression involves
the loss of certain cognitive gains and a sudden increase of social communication
disorders, followed by an extremely slow rate of learning. In the area of language,
the child becomes more echolalic, uses very little functional language and is not
very receptive to verbal prompts from adults. On the socio-affective level, the
child tends toward refusal of tactile contact and social proposals. He can throw
extreme rages especially in situations of frustration. Finally, the child engages in
few functional games and little social sharing around games. It has been observed
87
that children who are totally blind are more at risk of presenting a developmental
setback compared to those who have better vision. It was also shown that children
with neurological abnormalities are the most vulnerable.
Visual impairment and autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

Since the 1960s and 1970s, several specialists have been intrigued by the fact that
a certain number of visually impaired children have disorders relating to autism
spectrum disorder (ASD; see Pring, 2005). Although the prevalence differs surpri-
singly from one study to another (from 11.5% to 50%), it is accepted that the
absence of vision is a risk factor in the emergence of autism disorder. In parti-
cular, some visually impaired children present a clinical picture characterized by
socio-affective behavioral disorders, by atypical language development (delays
and pronominal inversions) and language particularities (echolalia, repetitions,
verbal stereotypies) and the presence of repetitive and stereotyped behaviors. These
clinical signs are not always indicative of an autism spectrum disorder, but rather
as autistic-like features. For example, language aspects or certain motor stereo-
typies (body rocking, eye rubbing, eye poking, eye pressing) are typical of visually
impaired children who have not been diagnosed with ASD. Moreover, most of
these features disappear over time.
Only a small percentage of children, and after a very fine diagnostic analysis,
meet the criteria for a diagnosis of ASD. It has been shown that the children
most at risk of developing ASD are congenitally profoundly blind children. In
addition, a higher rate of ASD has been observed in children with specific types
of ophthalmological disorders : retrolental fibroplasia, Leber’s congenital amau-
rosis, optic nerve hypoplasia, etc. Moreover, several studies have identified a
relationship between the presence of ASD in blind children and the existence
of brain damage.

Dale, N., & Sonksen, P. (2002). Social Interaction in Blind Children.
Developmental outcome, including London : Routledge.
setback, in young children with severe Pring, L. (2005). Autism and Blindness.
visual impairment. Developmental Research and Reflections. London :
medicine and child neurology, 44(9), Waley (trad. in French coordinated by
613-622. A. R. Galiano : Pring, L. (2016). Austime
Pérez-Pereira, M., & Conti-Ramsden, G. et cécité. Recherches et réflexions.
(2019). Language Development and Dijon : Les Doigts qui rêvent).
88
Exercise 19
Questions
1) What areas of development are likely to be affected throughout the pre-school
period ?
2) According to some researchers, with what is the absence of gestures observed
in the prelinguistic period linked ?
3) At about what age did researchers observe a developmental setback
phenomenon ?
4) What language cues seem to be problematic in visually impaired children ?
5) Which clinical risk factor can be associated with visual impairment ?
20) Preventing and reducing parental burnout

Regardless of cultural and demographic heterogeneity, parenthood remains a
particularly demanding role that, in some contexts, can lead to burnout. Parenting
encompasses many responsibilities that can become overwhelming when too
many stressors are present (Roskam & Mikolajczak, 2018). Similarly to profes-
sional burnout, parental burnout is a context-specific syndrome which occurs as
a consequence of chronic stress. It depletes personal resources and the ability to
deal effectively with stress (Mikolajczak et al., 2018).
Parental burnout
Parental burnout is depicted across four dimensions : (1) a feeling of physical
and emotional exhaustion in one’s parental role; (2) emotional distance from the
child; (3) loss of enjoyment and fulfilment in parenting; (4) and the impression of
no longer being a good parent (Roskam et al., 2018). It is important to emphasize
that these symptoms are present only in the context of parenthood : the parents can
continue to feel active and engaged at work, in social relations, and in their leisure
activities. However, parental burnout can generalize into depression (Roskam &
Mikolajczak, 2018).
The consequences of parental burnout are important as they affect the parent,
the couple and the child (Mikolajczak et al., 2018). At the parental level, there is an
increase in suicidal thoughts, substance abuse, sleep disturbances, and feelings
89
of guilt and shame. Contrary to a professional burnout, parents cannot take sick
leave or holidays, or quit their parental role, which makes it difficult to find a
way out of the situation. This situation affects the couple, and increases the risk
of conflict and separation, as well as the risk of parental burnout for the partner
(Mikolajczak et al., 2018). Conflicts may arise because the exhausted parents
perceive their partner to be responsible for the situation as they do not share
parental responsibilities or offer enough support (Mikolajczak et al., 2019). Another
consequence is an increased risk of violent and neglectful behaviors towards the
child (Mikolajczak et al., 2018), which represents a direct threat to the child’s
optimal development and physical and psychological well-being. These deleterious
consequences contribute to the maintenance and even increase the symptoms of
parental exhaustion, hence the need to prevent, detect, and treat parental burnout.
Risk and protective factors

In order to develop effective prevention and care, it is essential to identify the risk
factors and the protective factors, as well as the psychological processes involved in
parental burnout. Regarding risk factors, research showed that perfectionism and
high parental standards significantly predicted parental exhaustion (Kaamoto et al.,
2018 ; Lin et al., 2021 ; Sorkkila & Anuola, 2020). This can be explained by the inten-
sification of parental investment in the face of social pressure, which may contribute
to low parental efficacy and burnout. In addition, Paucsik et al. (2021) showed that
abstract ruminations also contribute to parental burnout. Indeed, perfectionism
can promote abstract ruminations (Flett et al., 2016), which play a central role
in the development of anxiety and depression symptoms (McLaughlin & Nolen-
Hoeksema, 2011). Furthermore, the results of an international study including 42
countries (N = 17 409) found that the increasing prevalence of parental burnout
in Western countries was linearly related to cultural individualism (Roskam et al.,
2021). These results suggest that cultural individualism and parental isolation also
significantly contribute to parental burnout.
Conversely, the trait of mindfulness and its intentional practice can reduce
parental exhaustion through the development of self-compassion and the reduction
of abstract ruminations (Paucsik et al., 2021). Indeed, mindfulness and self-compas-
sion promote resilience (Cousineau et al., 2019) and satisfying family relationships
(Fall & Shankland, 2021). Similarly, self-compassion has been shown to contribute
to parental well-being (Neff & Faso, 2015) and parental self-efficacy (Liao et al.,
2021). The results of a recent meta-analysis (Urbanowicz et al., under review)
showed that mindfulness-based interventions help reduce parental burnout in
parents of children with chronic diseases (Anclair et al., 2018), as well as parents
from the general population (Bayot et al., under review). These results suggest
90
that mindfulness training can contribute significantly to preventing and reducing

parental burnout.
Parental psychosocial skills also seem to play a protective role against parental
burnout. In a cross-sectional study (N = 852), the skills of stress management,
emotion regulation, interpersonal communication and empathy explained 25%
of the variance in parental burnout (Urbanowicz et al., under review). Similarly,
psychosocial skills explained a large part of the ability to engage in the relationship
with the child (27%) including interpersonal communication, empathy, assertive-
ness, problem solving, critical thinking, stress management, and the ability to ask
for help. Although only a correlational link exists thus far between these dimen-
sions, the results indicate a potentially protective role of psychosocial skills against
parental exhaustion that deserves to be investigated in future research.
Psychological interventions to prevent

and reduce parental burnout
The prevention and treatment of parental burnout should aim to alleviate risk
factors and promote protective factors. Research continues to study the links
between risk and protective factors in the context of parental burnout ; in parallel,
different psychological interventions are the subject of scientific evaluation (for
the meta-analysis see Urbanowicz et al., under review). For instance, in the study
by Urbanowicz et al. (under review), three group interventions were adapted to
the context of parental burnout : (1) Cognitive Behavioral Stress Management
program (CBSM ; Antoni & Carver, 2003), (2) mindfulness-based FOVEA program
(Shankland et al., 2021) and (3) CARE program based on positive psychology
(Shankland et al., 2020).
1) The CBSM program is a group intervention based on cognitive beha-
vioral therapy (CBT) that aims to develop stress management skills specific
to different dimensions of stress responses : emotional, behavioral, cogni-
tive, physiological, and social (Antoni et al., 2000 ; Gauchet et al., 2012). The
CBSM program combines cognitive and behavioral techniques with relaxation
methods and makes it possible to identify automatic thoughts, cognitive distor-

tions and the manifestations of stress, as well as to understand the notion of
coping strategies. The CBSM program was adapted to the context of parental
stress and burnout with the objective of preventing and reducing the negative
consequences of parental burnout through the improvement of stress and anger-
management skills, cognitive restructuring and social support (Urbanowicz
et al., under review).
2) The FOVEA program was adapted with the objective of preventing and
reducing the negative consequences of parental burnout by improving the
91
state of presence, aiding in welcoming the present moment with an attitude

of openness and non-judgment, and intentionally focusing attention on the
sensations, emotions, and thoughts that arise in the moment, without becoming
overwhelmed by them. The FOVEA program aims to develop present moment
attentional presence through informal practices that can be easily adapted to
daily activities. During the sessions, participants train their mindfulness skills by
focusing their attention on the 5 senses using short, simple practices embedded
in everyday experiences (e.g., using breath and the senses of touch, smell, hearing,
taste, and vision to keep attention focused in the present moment). FOVEA exer-
cises are also likely to improve emotional competence and well-being through
the processes of psychological and cognitive flexibility, openness to experience,
and non-judgmental attitude (Shankland et al., 2020).
3) The CARE parenting program is based on scientifically validated positive
psychology practices. The CARE program aims to develop psychological
flexibility by modifying attitude and habitual automatic behaviors, especially
in the context of parenthood. The program is designed around three axes :
(1) reorientation of attention towards the satisfying aspects of everyday life ;
(2) development of an attitude of self-compassion and non-judgment ; (3) and
engagement in actions that correspond to one’s values and respond to basic
psychological needs such as the need for social connection, a feeling of compe-
tence and autonomy. During weekly sessions, participants identify and highlight
their character strengths as well as those of their close relationships (e.g., couple,
child). Between the sessions, the participants implement their strengths and
qualities in different areas of their daily life. Positive psychology interventions
promote hope through positive projections into the future, develop emotional
competencies, and foster a positive outlook on the self, others and daily life.
These three programs have shown their effectiveness in terms of parental
burnout reduction in comparison with control groups. Future research should
continue to analyze the differential effects of such programs on parental burnout
reduction and prevention.

Mikolajczak, M., Brianda, M.E., Avalosse, Roskam I., & Mikolajczak M. (2018). Le
H., & Roskam, I. (2018). Consequences burn-out parental : comprendre, dia-
of parental burnout : Its specific effect gnostiquer et prendre en charge.
on child neglect and violence. Child Bruxelles : De Boeck.
Abuse and Neglect, 80, 134-145.
92
Shankland, R., Tessier, D., Strub, L., Practices : An Intervention Study.

Gauchet, A., & Baeyens, C. (2021). Applied Psychology : Health and Well-
Improving Mental Health and Well- Being, 13(1), 63-83.
Being through Informal Mindfulness
Exercise 20
Questions
1) List four symptoms of parental burnout.
2) What is the main difference between parental and professional burnout ?
3) Why is parental burnout a threat to child’s optimal development ?
4) Which factors play a protective role against parental burnout ?
5) List the 3 prevention and/or treatment programs described in this article.
21) The development of time perception in children

(Audio 21)
What is time perception ?
Each individual can experience a “sensation” of time, even though no sensory
organ is activated to allow us to perceive it. Everyone can feel time and talk about
it in the same way. Nonetheless, it remains specific to each person, based on what
one is experiencing and the circumstances. As Einstein (1929) said : “Put your
hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl
for an hour, and it seems like a minute, that’s relativity”. As Einstein noted in the
ongoing famous quote, there are two times which do not always perfectly corre-
late with the other, namely : objective time and subjective time. The first time
(objective) is the physical time that we socially share and that can be measured
by our time measuring instruments. The second, the psychological time, refers to
the subjective estimation of objective time. Who has not had a feeling similar to
that described in this quote, wherein their subjective time does not match physical
time ? This process, often unpleasant, is called temporal illusion. Researchers in the
field of psychology have therefore focused on the relationship between objective
and subjective time.
93
Why study time perception ?

Timing abilities are critical for almost every behaviour we engage in, from plan-
ning to executing action. It is absolutely critical for social interaction, in particular
because individuals synchronize with each other to favour understanding and
communication, an ability observed both in adults (for a review, see : Droit-Volet,
Fayolle, Lamotte & Gil, 2013) and children (Hallez & Droit-Volet, 2019). Apart from
the action itself, timing also makes it possible to anticipate sensory events, thereby
conferring obvious survival benefits. It is not a small matter; the psychological
processing of time has so much practical implications (e.g., for human emotion,
life satisfaction, mental health…) that it was considered by the journal Science in
2005 as one of the 125 big scientific questions of the Millennium.
A brief history of time perception in children

If the first questions regarding the development of the perception of time during
childhood were proposed more than a century ago by the work of Jean-Marie
Guyau (Guyau, 1885), it is only in the last decades that this question has been the
subject of systematic experimental studies. Influenced by the philosophical concep-
tion of time, some researchers, such as Piaget, initially believed that time estimation
was not a primary skill, but that it rested on an inference from the coordination
of movements in space (Piaget, 1946). This theory was quickly challenged by new
animal experiments showing that rats, pigeons and even fish, although lacking
sophisticated capacities for reasoning, could process time (Catania, 1970 ; Dews,
1970 ; Stubbs, 1968 ; Drew, Zupan, Cooke, Couvillon, & Balsam, 2005). These results
in animals therefore suggested, for the first time, that temporal estimation was a
primary skill common to many animal species.
Developmental studies then demonstrated that newborns arrive in this world
with the innate ability to process the flow of events as well as their temporal
characteristics. The best-known experiment on this subject is undoubtedly the
study made by Brackbill and Fitzgerald (1972), in which the authors conditioned
1-month-old babies to a change of brightness. Light off for 20 seconds and on for 4,
causing a pupillary constriction reflex. After several trials, once conditioning had
been established, they saw that the pupillary reflex intervened 20 ms in advance
of the initial reflex. This demonstrated that the infants were able to predict the
temporal occurrence of a stimulus innately. In other words, infants, from the first
moments of their lives, do processes time. Researchers then used various original
methodologies corroborating the results and showing that children aged from a
months responded to temporal irregularities, behaviourally or physiologically,
94
in repetitive sequences of stimuli (Brannon, Roussel, Meck, & Woldorff, 2004 ;

Delavenne, Gratier, Devouche, 2013 ; Demany, McKenzie & Vurpillot, 1977 ; Hevia,
Izard, Coubart, Spelke & Streri, 2014) and were able to discriminate between 2
temporal stimuli (Provasi, Rattat & Droit-Volet, 2010 ; Brannon, Suanda, Lubertuis,
2007 ; vanMarle & Wynn, 2006). For some authors, the stability of the temporal
organization of rhythmic activities in very young children demonstrates endoge-
nous control by micro-rhythms of the central nervous system (Crook, 1979 ; Wolff,
1991), which can be detected as early as 10 weeks gestation by movements of the
lower limbs of the fetus (De Vries, Visser & Prechtl, 1984). An important feature
is also that this primitive sense of time already exhibits scalar properties. Scalar
properties are typical of temporal estimation in humans and animals, allowing us
to assert that the perception of time is based on universal mechanisms (Lejeune
& Wearden, 2006, 2009 ; Wearden, 2016 ; Wearden & Lejeune, 2008). According
to this property, (1) the mean of the temporal estimates increases linearly with
increasing duration of the stimulus and (2) the variance (standard deviation) of the
temporal estimates increases linearly with the duration of the stimulus.
However, just because timing skills seem innate does not mean that it remains
unchanged or does not show any maturation. Indeed, the improvement in time
judgments throughout childhood has now been well established (Allman et al.,
2012 ; Droit-Volet, 2011, 2013, 2016 ; Block, Zakay, & Hancock, 1999). It appears
that, regardless of the type of task employed, temporal judgments and productions
improve with age, being more precise and less variable. Hallez & Droit-Volet (2020)
recently succeeded in identifying age thresholds in time sensitivity above which no
further changes are observed, thus indicating the attainment of maturity in timing
abilities. The development of the time estimate has been shown to be dependent
on the target duration, the development being more latent for long durations
compared with shorter periods.
From a developmental perspective, before the age of 4, time is not represented,
it is experienced within, felt in the dynamics of perception and action. For the
very young child, time is therefore only lived. In this sense, time is inseparable
from its perceptual and spatial aspects. This time being fragmented and relative to
lived experience, children are unable to extract the temporality of an event and/or
transpose a duration (Rattat & Droit-Volet, 1999). There are as much perceptions
of time as there are actions or events. In this regard, Sylvie Droit-Volet speaks of
heterogeneous time, of multiple times (Droit-Volet, 2001). This implies that the
world perceived by children before age 4 is not governed by a single dimension of
time flowing in a uniform fashion (a notion of absolute time), but by a plurality of
scattered times. Droit-Volet and Coull (2018) recently distinguished the existence
95
of two types of temporal knowledges. The first is implicit and unconscious and
the other is explicit and conscious. It then appears that there is no difference by
age in temporal performance with respect to implicit judgment (i.e., when the
children deal with time unconsciously), whereas temporal performance improves
as to explicit judgment with age. In other words, the implicit judgment of time is
precocious and is based on innate processes. Nevertheless, development leads to
an improvement in temporal sensitivity.
The future of time perception research in children

The current goal of researchers is to find the reason for this age-related increase
in time sensitivity related to the explicit estimation of time. Two hypotheses are
currently put forward in the literature. One is related to the maturation of the
cortical substrate allowing time estimation, and the other is related to the deve-
lopment of cognitive abilities, which in turn allows better processing of time. It is
therefore important to make a distinction between, on the one hand, the specific
effects which arise from cortical development and, on the other hand, the diffe-
rences according to age regarding the judgment of time which may result from an
increase in cognitive capacities, although the two assumptions are not mutually
exclusive (for a review : Droit-Volet, 2016).
This matter of the influence of cognitive processes on the improvement of time
sensitivity, particularly in terms of attention (Hallez, 2020 ; Hallez & Droit-Volet,
2019, 2017 ; Hallez, Monier & Droit-Volet, 2021 ; Zélanti & Droit-Volet, 2011)
and memory (Damsma, van der Mijn & van Rijn, 2018 ; Droit-Volet, Wearden
& Delgado-Yonger, 2007 ; Delgado & Droit-Volet, 2007 ; Hallez, Damsma, Rhodes,
van Rijn & Droit-Volet, 2018) has been proven to be significant for age-related
changes in time perception. However, it is becoming clear that current models
of time perception, called “internal clock models”, do not take these cognitive
dimensions into account. But these are not their only faults, as they also do not
consider the inherent plasticity of the learning process, making them models that
are not very suited to children.
Further studies still need to be conducted to identify the different physiolo-
gical and cognitive mechanisms underlying the improvement in time sensitivity in
children, as well as their respective weights. This will allow the research commu-
nity, not only to model an internal clock model functional for both adults and
children, but also to better understand the way we process time.
96

Block, R.A., & Gruber, R.P. (2014). Time percep- Grondin, S. (2010). Timing and time per-
tion, attention, and memory : a selective ception : a review of recent behavio-
review. Acta psychologica, 149, 129-133. ral and neuroscience findings and
Droit-Volet, S. (2016). Development of theoretical directions. Attention,
time. Current Opinion in Behavioral Perception, & Psychophysics, 72(3),
Sciences, 8, 102-109. 561-582.
Exercise 21
Multiple choice questions
1) Which of the following statements are true with respect to scalar properties ?
a) It is a robust phenomenon in time estimation research that has been
observed with only a few time estimation methods.
b) These properties suggest that the mean of the estimates increases
with stimulus duration and that the variance decreases with stimulus
duration.
c) “Short” intervals of time tend to be overestimated, and “long” intervals of
time tend to be underestimated.
d) They are fundamental properties of the perception of time common to
humans and animals.
2) What can be said about the development of temporal skills ?
a) In 1946, Piaget already knew that time perception was innate.
b) Children have an innate sense of time, but their temporal estimates develop
over time, becoming more accurate and less variable.
c) There are two developments of the perception of time, one innate which
shows no development and can be measured using implicit tasks, and
the other which is acquired through development and can be measured

using explicit tasks.
d) They only rely on brain development.
3) What can be said about heterogeneous time ?
a) We owe the discovery of this phenomenon to Sylvie Droit-Volet.
b) This phenomenon refers to the fact that a given period of time may be
experienced subjectively differently, the latter may seem very shortened
or lengthened, depending on the situation.
97
c) This phenomenon refers to the fact that children, before the age of 4, do
not depict the world as a continuous and uniform dimension.
d) This implies that individuals represent time according to the Newtonian
idea of time.
4) What factors have been discovered that improve the perception of time ?
a) The idea of Newtonian time improves children’s representations of time
and therefore their time perception skills.
b) The development of the brain.
c) Attentional abilities.
d) Mnesic capacities.
22) The impact of early mother-infant interaction

on the development of infant attachment
(Audio 22)
The role of early mother-infant interaction and its influence on later social
and emotional child development has received increasing attention over the
past thirty years. The discovery of the infant’s early communication competen-
cies gave great impetus to studies in this domain. Results of these studies have
revealed an active and intentional role of infants in interactions with their adult
partners. As a result, early interactions are now seen as bi-directional processes
in which synchrony, reciprocity, and mutual attunement play important roles.
In parallel with these findings, a series of studies has begun to show that early
interactions are a core aspect of the development of the infant’s affective bond to
its parents. The most significant contributions in this area come from attachment
theory (Bowlby, 1969).
A central premise of attachment theory is that the development of attachment
depends upon the quality of the interaction, and, in particular, that differences in
attachment patterns can be partly attributed to the quality of caregiving. The nature
and delay of the primary caregiver’s (usually the mother’s) responses to infant
behavior throughout the first year are believed to be among major contributing
factors to infant behavioral organization, including attachment behavior. Through
interactive contingencies, infants build expectations regarding maternal behavior
in different situations, and learn to organize their own adaptive behavior in a way
that is coherent with their expectations.
98
Attachment theory posits that the infant in a healthy mother-infant dyad uses
its mother as a safety haven, and a secure base for exploration. This means that
the infant is enabled both to explore independently and to connect with the parent
for interaction when s/he needs to (for example when distressed, in perceived
danger or needing support for exploration or play). Such moving away from, then
back toward, the parent indicates that the parent is being used as a secure base
for emotional refueling, protection, and encouragement for exploration. Moving
away is possible because the child has confidence in the parent’s availability, while
moving toward means that the child is sure of the parent’s acceptance and welcome.
The Strange Situation (Ainsworth et al., 1978) is a paradigmatic observational
measure of infant attachment behavior, which includes eight brief episodes of inte-
raction, separation, and reunion, involving the infant, the parent, and a stranger.
Within this stressful procedure, it is inferred that infant behavioral organization,
especially during reunion episodes, is a reflection of his or her expectations regar-
ding parental behavior, learned from interaction in more habitual settings.
Secure attachment
Infants classified as having a secure attachment pattern show protest behaviors
during separation, but welcome the parent when she or he comes back and seeks
proximity with the caregiver for a while. This contact then allows the infant to
return to exploration. The parent typically serves as a secure base for reassurance
and exploration. These parents are portrayed as sensitive, responding promptly
and appropriately to their child’s signals and behaviors, and providing a supportive,
predictable, and coherent context for infants to develop.
Insecure-avoidant attachment
Insecure-avoidant infants appear less disturbed by the separation, and behave as
if they have no need for comfort after the separation. These infants appear more
independent and explore the new environment without using the parent as a secure
base. They ignore or avoid the parent at reunion, as they do not expect soothing
and reassurance from the parent. These infants tend to focus their attention on toys
and play activity. If distressed by the separation, they may accept being soothed by
the stranger. Parents of avoidant infants are generally perceived as being predic-
tably insensitive, and perhaps stressful to their child because of their intrusive or
rejecting behaviors.
99
Insecure-ambivalent attachment
Conversely, insecure-ambivalent infants are highly disturbed by the procedure,
and show anxious and distressed behavior during separation. At reunion, these
infants seek the parent for soothing but in a manner that reflects their uncertainty
concerning the parent’s reaction and availability. These infants may then display
fussy, immature, or infantilized behavior. They may seek physical proximity but
simultaneously show rejection and anger towards the parent. Their parents have
mostly been described as lacking in appropriateness and consistency in their care-
giving behaviors.
Disorganized attachment
Lastly, some infants do not show any organized attachment pattern in the
Strange Situation, and display contradictory or atypical behaviors, including simul-
taneous proximity seeking and avoidance, remaining still, freezing, or engaging in
odd behavior at reunion. Rather than being distressed by the procedure, the infant
seems to be afraid of the parent. Some authors contend that when the potentially
protective parent is also a source of fear, a disorganized attachment relationship
may ensue. Under these circumstances (i.e., fright without solution), the child is
faced with an insoluble dilemma that prevents the development of an organized
strategy. Disorganized attachment has been linked to child maltreatment, neglect,
trauma, and role reversal in the relationship with the parent. In turn, parents of
disorganized infants have been found to suffer from unresolved trauma and loss,
and to display insensitive, odd, abdicating, role reversal, frightening or frightened
behavior in the relationship with the child.
During infancy, the interaction between the youngster and his or her attach-
ment figure compensate for, and complement, the lack of motor, communication,
affective and social skills on the youngster’s part, such that the infant will always
be protected while being afforded as much independence as possible in order to
acquire these skills. Bowlby describes the parent’s role as being available, ready
to respond when called upon to encourage and perhaps to assist, but to inter-
vene only when clearly necessary. As for affective development, it has been shown
that the primary caregiver’s sensitivity and responsiveness to the infant’s signals
provide the context in which the infant’s experiences and feelings of security will
be organized. There is ample evidence that parental sensitivity and responsive-
ness play an important role in the formation of secure attachment. Sensitive and
responsive parents are more likely to notice their baby’s signals and use those to
100
guide their own behavior, and also are more knowledgeable about their infant.
In turn, infants of sensitive parents have been shown to respond more positively
to physical contact, to cry less, and to vocalize more to their parents compared to
infants of less sensitive parents.
Bearing this in mind, a significant body of studies has shown that increasing
parental awareness of the infant’s competencies can enhance parent-infant inte-
raction, and promote infant attachment. Mothers who have been familiarized with
the newborn’s capacities are more likely to spend time stimulating the infant, to
pay more attention to the infant, and to be more responsive to the infant’s signals
(Cooper et al., 2009; Wendland-Carro et al., 1999). The perinatal period has been
described as a sensitive period for the parents and the newborn, and therefore
suitable for early intervention. Improvements in mother-infant interaction and
infant attachment may be linked to long-term positive child outcomes. This should
encourage further research in this promising field.

Ainsworth, M.D., Blehar, M.C., Waters, E., & Improving quality of mother-infant
Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of Attachment : relationship and infant attachment
A Psychological Study of the Strange in socioeconomically deprived com-
Situation. Hillsdale, NJ : Lawrence munity in South Africa : Randomized
Erlbaum Associated. controlled trial. British Medical
Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and Loss. Journal, 338, 1-11.
London : Hogarth Press and Institute Wendland-Carrro, J., Piccinini, C.A., &
of Psycho-Analysis. Millar, S. (1999). The role of an early
Cooper, P.J., Tomlinson, M., Swartz, L., intervention on enhancing the quality
Landman, M., Molteno, C., Stein, A., of mother-infant interaction. Child
McPherson, K., & Murray, L. (2009). Development, 70, 713-721.
Exercise 22
Questions
1) List the four attachment patterns identified in the text.
2) Who is usually the “primary caregiver” ?
3) Which researcher developed the “Strange Situation” technique ?
101
4) Which attachment style is associated with inconsistent parenting ?

5) According to the Attachment Theory, what is the role of the primary caregiver
in a healthy relationship ?
D’autres thèmes de la psychologie du développement sont à découvrir dans les

ressources en ligne :
Pour en savoir plus sur les types d’attachement et leur lien avec les relations
amoureuses développées dans la vie adulte, voir le film intitulé :
Film 1 : Early attachment in childhood : links with adult relationship
patterns
Pour en savoir plus sur la théorie de l’attachement et ses origines, voir le texte élec-
Introduction to attachment theory
Pour en savoir plus sur les apports de Piaget à « la psychologie du déve-
loppement », voir le texte électronique 24 intitulé :
Are macro-developmental piagetian concepts relevant to describe
micro-development ?
102
Chapitre 3
Psychologie de la santé/
Health psychology
Sommaire
25) Health psychology (Audio 25 et Exercise 25) ............................. 105
26) Health and cognition (Exercise 26)................................................. 110
27) Breaking bad news to patients : cultural differences
(Audio 27 et Exercise 27) ........................................................... 113
28) Why patients refuse to take antibiotics (Exercise 28).................... 117
29) Assessing hospitalized patients’ quality of life
from external indices (Exercise 29) ................................................ 119
30) Fostering the mobility of older adults (Exercise 30) ...................... 125
31) Awe : conditions of emergence and properties (Exercise 31) .......... 129

32) The locus of control : contributions and limits (Audio 32)
33) Relationship between smoking and perceived risk of lung cancer
(Exercise 33)
34) Changes in French people’s misconceptions about hepatitis C
(Exercise 34)
Psychologie de la santé/Health psychology ■ Chapitre 3
Health psychology is focused on understanding how to assist individuals to

prevent and manage health problems such as chronic illnesses. Specifically,
research topics are centred on the interrelationships between social factors,
biological factors, and behaviour. Thus, health psychologists are interested in the
psychological and behavioural aspects of physical and mental health. They develop
methods to assist patients in maintaining healthy lifestyles. They also help patients
manage chronic disease and avoid preventable diseases. They provide rehabilitative
services to individuals with chronic diseases. Health psychologists examine beha-
viours that might influence disease development such as compliance with taking
medication. Their research and interventions are intended to assist patients with
chronic illnesses as they deal with daily challenges, and to help all members of a
given society to maintain healthy lifestyles and/or to take preventative measures to
avoid health problems. A number of related topics will be covered in this section.
25) Health psychology

(Audio 25)
What is health psychology ?
Health psychology is a relatively young subdiscipline within psychology which
emerged in the 1970s and is rapidly expanding in many directions : teaching,
research and practice. The term designates a field of research and practice devoted
to understanding psychological influences on health-related processes, such as why
people become ill, how they respond to illness, how they recover from a disease or
adjust to chronic illness or how they stay healthy in the first place. It was described
by Matarazzo (1980) as the aggregate of the specific educational, scientific and
professional contributions of the discipline of psychology to the promotion and
maintenance of health, the promotion and treatment of illness, the identification
of etiologic and diagnostic correlates of health, illness, and related dysfunction and
the improvement of the health care system and health policy formation.
The primary focus is on physical rather than mental health, although these are
not easily separable in practice. This design is congruent with the definition of
health proposed by the World Health Organisation (WHO, 1946), which empha-
sizes the existence of a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being
and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
105
The history of health psychology

In 1969, William Schofield, from the University of Minnesota, wrote an American
Psychologist article on the role of psychologists in medical settings, in which he
deplored their lack of involvement in both research and healthcare. In 1973, the
Board of Scientific Affairs of the American Psychological Association (APA)
appointed Schofield to identify contributions of psychology in health research
and, in 1978, a formal section on health psychology was created : Division 38. From
this period onward, health psychology has grown rapidly, as evidenced by the large
number of scientific journals devoted to the subject. For example, Division 38
publishes the bimonthly journal Health Psychology, and the quarterly newsletter
The Health Psychologist.
In France, the discipline began to develop later than in English-speaking coun-
tries. The Association Francophone de Psychologie de la Santé (AFPSa1) was created
in 2001, and several textbooks have been published since then (see references). At
present, nearly a dozen universities offer a Professional Master’s degree in Health
Psychology. The growing enthusiasm for Health Psychology can currently be attri-
buted to four factors in Western countries : (a) increasing disenchantment with the
biomedical model and its dominance in healthcare; (b) increasing evidence that
much illness and mortality is caused by health-damaging behaviours and lifestyles;
(c) escalating costs of medical care; and (d) the growing belief in western societies
that individuals are responsible for their own health.
What do health psychologists study ?

Health psychologists study the origins and correlates of several common chronic
diseases or severe states, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and
HIV/AIDS. They perform a variety of tasks aimed at identifying and evaluating
the myriad of factors that undermine health. They first seek to understand the
links between our psychological and our physical health, in order to promote and
maintain physical health. Their findings lead them to develop theories which they
test by putting them into practice. In this way, they try to prevent the onset of
somatic diseases, or, alternatively, to facilitate their management. They also aspire
to improve the health care system and help in determining health policies.
In this way, pre-morbid personalities and dysfunctional coping strategies that
may negatively affect physical health and lead to deteriorating quality of life have
1. http://www.afpsa.fr
106
been studied. Two major lifestyle risks are more specifically described in the
literature : the A style, characterized by an attraction towards competition and
challenges, as well as impatience and hostility, which may predispose an individual
to the emergence of cardiovascular problems; the C style, which is characterized
by low distress expression, suggesting the existence of a suppression of negative
emotions and which was believed to promote carcinogenesis.
The deleterious effects of stress on somatic health have also been much studied
by health psychologists. Stress is defined as a particular relationship between a
person and the environment that the person perceives as taking or exceeding his
or her resources and endangering his or her well-being (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984).
In this perspective, research on stressful life events indicates that their impact on
health depends on how they are interpreted. It is assumed to be the consequence
of a double appraisal process that involves specifying the adaptive challenges (Is it a
harming, threatening, or challenging situation ?) and resources available to address
them (Is it possible to control the situation and/or to be helped ?).
Health psychologists are not just interested in what people think, but also in
what they do to manage as much as possible what happens to them. They refer
to the concept of coping, which describes the set of cognitive and behavioural
attempts aimed at managing the external and/or internal demands perceived by
the individuals as using up or exceeding their resources and threatening their well-
being (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). The research literature shows that cognitive
and behavioural efforts to directly manage a stressful event (active efforts such as
problem-solving coping) ensure a better adjustment to illness than attempts to
regulate the emotional consequences of this potentially stressful event (emotion-fo-
cused coping) or a strong propensity for emotional, cognitive and behavioural
avoidance.
Other roles and functions of health psychologists

Health psychologists may also examine the adoption of unhealthy behaviours

(e.g., smoking, drinking alcohol, high risk sexual behaviours, a sedentary lifestyle),
as well as analyze the development of healthy habits (e.g., balanced diet, exercising).
They also try to identify and evaluate factors of non-adherence to medical treat-
ments and seek to discover the key factors of behavioural change (e.g., stopping
smoking, diet compliance). They rely on these types of research results for patient
treatment programs or for broader health recommendations. Specifically, these
investigations lead them to focus on prophylactic measures that are divided into
primary prevention (to prevent the development of a disease), secondary prevention
107
(to promote early disease detection or reduce its progression) and tertiary preven-
tion (to avoid relapses). They test the effectiveness of their programs tailored to
specific needs and psychosocial characteristics of individuals. For example, they
can take into account anxiety levels, their coping styles and current openness to
change. These customized clinical trials allow them to target their interventions
better and, thus, increase their beneficial effects.
The ultimate aim of health psychologists is actually to help people to stay well
by taking better care of themselves. To achieve this goal, practitioners participate
in healthcare in a multitude of contexts, including inpatient medical units, primary
care programs for preventable disorders and specialized healthcare interventions
such as stopping smoking, preparation for stressful medical procedures, physical
rehabilitation or pain management. Chronic disease self-management programs
that they offer frequently have a cognitive-behavioural orientation. They often
include a psycho-educational phase, a skills learning phase (stress management,
problem-solving) and a terminal work focused on the maintenance of therapeutic
gains (relapse prevention).
Most of the time, clinical health psychologists focus on buffering the effects
of (di)stress on health by promoting adequate coping strategies or improving the
use of social support. Some other proactive approaches are specifically designed
to induce the sustainable development of a sense of well-being that helps to cope
with any somatic health problems that arise. In addition, innovative forms of treat-
ment have recently been gaining attention and empirical support, particularly
mindfulness approaches and acceptance-based therapies to promote insight and
beneficial changes in attitudes towards health. It is essential to consider not only
the short-term effects of interventions designed to modify health habits, but also
their long-range effectiveness.
The biopsychosocial model of health (Engel 1977, 1980) encourages the integra-
tion of biomedical information about health and illness with current psychological
knowledge in order to transcend Cartesian mind-body dualism. It guides health
psychologists in their practice and research efforts to uncover factors that predict
states of health and illness. For example, they try to specify links between indica-
tors of immune functioning (e.g., lymphocyte rates) and psychological criteria (e.g.,
self-efficacy, perceived social support). Such investigations lead them to develop
complex explanatory models of health and disease, highlighting the existence of
reciprocal influences between psychological attitudes and somatic phenomena.
Accordingly, health psychology must be considered as a field of research and prac-
tice at the crossroads of several fields, that requires interdisciplinary collaboration.
108

Bruchon-Schweitzer, M. (2002). Ogden, J. (2008). Psychologie de la santé.
Psychologie de la santé : modèles, Bruxelles : De Boeck.
concepts et méthodes. Paris : Dunod. Santiago-Delefosse, M. (2002). Psychologie
Fischer, G.N., & Tarquinio, C. (2006). Les de la santé. Perspectives qualita-
concepts fondamentaux de la psy- tives et cliniques. Paris, Bruxelles :
chologie de la santé. Paris : Dunod. Mardaga.
Exercise 25
Match the definition with the term that is most appropriate.
List of terms
1) Mindfulness approaches :
2) Cartesian mind-body dualism :
3) Compliance :
4) Relapse prevention :
5) Social support :
Definitions
a) Methods used to prevent individuals from re-engaging in unhealthy practices
such as smoking or eating foods that damage health.
b) Engaging in practices that have been prescribed by a health practitioner (e.g.,
taking the pills that have been prescribed).
c) A meditative focus on present awareness with an attitude of acceptance, based
on Zen or Bhuddist practices.
d) Emotional, physical, and material support received from family, friends, and
community.
e) This incorporates the idea that the body and mind function independently of
one another.
109
26) Health and cognition

Health psychology is the latest development in the process of including
psychology in our understanding of health. It emphasizes the role played by
psychological factors in the causes, development and consequences of health,
illness and death. Illness can be caused by a combination of biological factors (e.g.,
genetics, viruses), psychological factors (behavior, beliefs, emotions) and social
factors (employment/unemployment, social norms, peer pressure). Changes in
causes of death over the twentieth and twenty-first centuries suggest an increa-
sing role for beliefs and behaviors. Changes in behavior-related illnesses, such
as coronary heart disease, cancers and HIV may partly explain changes in causes
of death. Coronary heart disease, for example, is related to behaviors such as
smoking and lack of exercise. Many cancers are related to behaviors such as
diet, smoking, alcohol consumption and failure to attend for screening or health
check-ups. Understanding the role of psychological factors and behaviors in
illness can allow unhealthy behavior to be targeted. In this article, the author will
examine theories of health behaviors, and provide a comprehensive introduction
to the main models that have been developed to try to understand relationships
between behavior and health.
A brief definition of health behaviors

Health psychologists define three types of health behaviors. They can be aimed
at preventing disease (e.g., eating a healthy diet), seeking a remedy (e.g., going to
the doctor) and getting well (e.g., taking prescribed medication or resting). Health
behaviors are also defined in terms of either health-impairing habits (smoking,
eating a high fat diet) or health protective behaviors (attending a health check).
Behaviors can have negative or positive effects, and play an increasingly important
role in health and illness.
Belloc and Breslow (1972) examined the relationship between mortality rates
and behaviors among 7,000 people. They concluded from this correlational analysis
that several behaviors were related to health status (sleeping 7-8 hours a day; having
breakfast every day; not smoking; rarely eating between meals; being near or at
prescribed weight; moderate or no alcohol use; taking regular exercise).
Research on the relationship between different health behaviors has produced
weak correlations. People who take precautions (such as limiting the intake of foods
like coffee or sugar) may also take risks, like driving too fast. Health behaviors are
frequently undertaken for reasons unrelated to health. For example, people often
110
diet to improve their looks, rather than for health reasons. Health behavior can,
therefore, be considered in terms of its actual, rather than intended, consequences.
It is also important to try to understand and predict health-related behaviors.
Predictors of health behaviors

Beliefs about causes of health and illness
Health behaviors are related to people’s beliefs about the general causes of health
and illness. For example, Bradley (1985) showed that patients’ attributions about
responsibility and perceived control over illness influenced their choice of treat-
ment (“Can I – or someone else with more power – control diabetes ?”). Patients
who believed their illness was not controllable, and that they were not personally
responsible for it, were more likely to choose an insulin pump (a small mechanical
device attached to the skin, which provides a continuous flow of insulin) rather
than other methods of injection (the conventional treatment of daily injections)
– and they were also more likely to hand over responsibility to doctors. Another
study (King, 1982) examined the relationship between attributions for an illness
and attendance at a hypertension screening clinic. If patients considered their
hypertension controllable, they were more likely to attend the screening clinic. In
other words, perceived lack of control over health influences the extent to which
people adopt preventive behavior (e.g., give up smoking).
Individuals differ also as to whether they feel they can control events, according
to whether their locus of control is more internal (“I am responsible for my health”)
or external (“Whether I am well or not is a matter of luck”). Locus of control in
health matters is related to whether people change behavior (e.g., give up smoking)
and the kind of communication style they need from health professionals. People
who feel they are not responsible for their health are less likely to comply with
doctors who encourage them to make lifestyle changes.
Beliefs about susceptibility to health problems :

unrealistic optimism
One of the reasons people continue to adopt unhealthy behaviors is their inac-
curate perceptions of risk and susceptibility. Unrealistic optimism refers to the fact
that most people believe they are less likely to have health problems than other
people of the same age and sex (Weinstein, 1983, 1984). At a general level, or in
multiple health behaviors, unrealistic optimism is most often linked to unhealthy
or downright risky behaviors. Some factors contribute to unrealistic optimism, like :
1) lack of personal experience of a particular health problem ;
111
2) the belief that the health problem can be prevented by individual action ;
3) the belief that if a health problem has not yet appeared, it will not appear in the
future ; and
4) the belief that the health problem is infrequent. People show selective focus,
ignoring their own risk-increasing behavior (“I may not always practice safe
sex…”), and focus primarily on their risk-reducing behavior (“… but at least I
don’t inject drugs”). This selectiveness is also characterized by people’s tendency
to ignore others’ risk-decreasing behavior, or to underestimate other people’s
ability to control their own health risks. People who are focused on risk-decrea-
sing factors (e.g., questions phrased in the form “since becoming sexually active,
how often have you tried to select your partner carefully ?”) show more optimism,
rating themselves as less at-risk than those who are focused on risk-increasing
factors (questions like “since becoming sexually active, how often have you asked
about your partner’s HIV status ?”).
Structured models of health have integrated beliefs about causes and control of
health, and susceptibility to health problems. In these models, cognition is regarded
as being shared by members of a given society, and predictors and precursors of
health behaviors are examined.
Exercise 26
Match the first half of each sentence with the best second half.
First half of sentences

1) Not smoking, being at or near prescribed weight, rarely eating between meals,
and sleeping 7-8 hours per day…
2) Research has demonstrated that individuals who choose to inject their own
insulin…
3) Individuals with diabetes who do not feel they have control over their illness…
4) Individuals who feel they are responsible for their own health…
5) Individuals who feel whether or not they are healthy is a matter of luck…
6) The majority of people feel that they are less likely to have health problems…
Second half of sentences

a) have an internal locus of control.
b) are more likely to feel they can exercise some control over their illness.
c) may opt to use an automatic continuous flow insulin pump.
112
d) when compared to people of the same sex and age due to their unrealistic
optimism.
e) are predictors of positive health status.
f) have an external locus of control.
Pour en savoir plus sur l’importance de la notion de contrôle et ses limites dans le
champ de la santé, mais aussi dans d’autres domaines, reportez-vous aux
ressources en ligne. Voir le texte électronique 32 et la version audio 32
intitulés :
The locus of control : contributions and limits
27) Breaking bad news to patients :

cultural differences (Audio 27)
Patient-clinician communication is a critical component of medical care. It has a
major impact on (a) patients’ psychological adjustment to illness, (b) their adherence
to treatment, (c) the outcome of the treatment itself, (d) future patient-clinician
relationships, and (e) patients’ complaints to the justice system. However, notifying
patients that they have a poor prognosis is stressful, partly because they have varied
desires and beliefs, and navigating these issues presents physicians with unique
challenges. Guidelines on how to deliver bad news to adult patients tell physicians
to be sensitive to individual patients’ preferences, capacities, and needs.
Using a technique of realistic scenarios, we explored and compared patients’
personal preferences regarding the breaking of bad news in a Western European
country – France – and in a Western African country-Togo. The 450 participants
were lay people living around Toulouse (N = 195) or Lomé (N = 255). They were
approached by research assistants when walking along the main sidewalks of their
city. Their ages ranged from 18 to 68 years.

The material consisted of 72 cards containing a very short story of a few lines,
a question and a response scale. Five factors were manipulated : (a) the severity
of the disease (e.g., incurable, with a life expectancy of a few months; the patient
must remain in the hospital), (b) the elderly patient’s wishes regarding disclosure
(e.g., wishes to know about her illness, but does not insist on knowing the full
truth), (c) the level of social support during hospitalization, (d) the elderly patient’s
psychological robustness, and (e) the physician’s decision about communicating
bad news (e.g., hid the truth from the elderly patient but told the full truth to her
113
relatives). All the patients were identified as females and were about 70 years of
age; they were cognitively intact.
The following is an example of a story : “Mrs. Johnson is 70 years old. She suffers
from an extremely serious illness that cannot be cured by modern medicine. She
will have to stay in the hospital. Her life expectancy is a few months. Mrs. Johnson
is a person known to be psychologically robust. She is, however, isolated; her only
family members live far away. She will hardly have any visitors. Mrs. Johnson wants
to know what she is suffering from but does not insist on knowing the absolute
truth. Dr. Brown decided to hide the truth from Mrs. Johnson and from her family.
He told them that the illness was severe but that her life was not in danger. To what
extent do you consider that the physician’s behavior was, in this case, appropriate ?”
The response scale was an 11-point scale with a left-hand anchor of Not at all (0)
and a right-hand anchor of Completely (10).
8 Wished to
Know the Truth
Judged Appropriateness
Did Not Insist

7
2
Hid the Truth Told to Patient Hid the Truth Told to Patient
Told to Family Told to Family
Togo France
Figure 1
In each panel, (a) the judged appropriateness of the physician’s behavior is on the y-axis,
(b) the three levels of the physician’s behavior are on the x-axis, and (c) the two curves
correspond to the two levels of the patient’s wishes.
As can be observed in Figure 1, among the Togolese participants, the highest

appropriateness ratings corresponded to the telling of the truth to the family but
not to the patient. The patient’s wishes had absolutely no effect. Among the French
participants, the highest appropriateness ratings corresponded to the telling of the
truth directly to the patient. Ratings were still higher when the patient insisted to
114
know the full truth rather than when she did not insist. In both groups of partici-
pants, the effect of the remaining factors were always comparatively small.
As these findings are only group findings, a cluster analysis was conducted on
the raw data, in order to identify qualitatively different positions regarding the
communication of bad news. Five personal positions were found.
Three positions were more frequently held by French participants than by
Togolese participants : (a) “Always tell the full truth directly to the patient” (29%
vs. 1%), (b) “Tell the truth either to the patient or to the relatives”, a more relaxed
position (23% vs. 13%), and (c) “Depends on patient’s wishes” (25% vs. 7%).
Two positions were more frequently held by Togolese participants than by
French participants : (d) “Tell the truth to the relatives” (27% vs. 2%), and (e) “Never
tell the truth to the patient” (34% vs. 14%). A small group of participants (13%),
mostly Togolese, were undetermined.
These findings were consistent with previous empirical studies in sub-Saharan
African countries that suggest that respect for individual autonomy in healthcare
is not a strongly endorsed value among African people. The salience of individual
autonomy and self-determination in the Western European cultural context may
explain the French sensitivity to patients’ autonomy in communications about
matters of health. In contrast, the Togolese preference for family involvement
when breaking bad news reflects cultural values promoted in Africa, such as
interdependence and community. In many African cultures, a culturally designated
appropriate person should perform the breaking of bad news such as grave illness
in an appropriate manner, at an appropriate time and place. An additional expla-
nation is that whereas in medically developed countries such as France, disclosure
of bad news may guide patients throughout numerous treatment options, in the
Togolese context such a disclosure may undermine patients’ hope since they are
aware of the lack of therapeutic options.
The findings of the current study also highlight the importance for health profes-
sionals of considering cross-cultural differences when exploring how to break bad
news to patients. It provides preliminary evidence to suggest that people in Togo,
and probably in other African countries, disagree with the Western construct of
respect for individual patient autonomy when disclosing an adverse prognosis to
them. In fact, it was clear that the concept of the patient as an independent entity
whose interests might differ from those of family members and health profes-
sionals in the community lacks cultural legitimacy in Togo. While application of
“universal” ethics guidelines in health communication might somehow contribute
115
to better healthcare on the African continent, respect for patient’s values and

preferences are as important as evidence-based medicine.

Igier, V., Muñoz Sastre, M.T., Sorum, patients. Health Communication, 31,
P.C., & Mullet, E. (2015). A mapping of 1311-1317.
people’s positions regarding the brea- Muñoz Sastre, M.T., Mullet, E., &
king of bad news to patients. Health Sorum, P.C. (2011). Breaking bad
Communication, 30, 694-701. news : The patients’ view. Health
Kpanake, L., Sorum, P. C., & Mullet, E. Communication, 26, 649-655.
(2016). Breaking bad news to Togolese
Exercise 27
List of terms
(a) severity - (b) robustness - (c) family - (d) skill - (e) disclosure - (f) truth -
(g) palliative - (h) physician’s - (i) elderly - (j) endorse

Good communication is a fundamental (1) .............. for all (2) .............. care clini-
cians who should be aware of some cross-cultural differences when they break bad
news to their (3) .............. patients. The aim of this study was to compare Togolese
and French people’s positions regarding this announcement. 450 participants, i.e.
195 French and 255 Togolese, were presented with 72 vignettes (or stories) depic-
ting communication of bad news to patients and asked to indicate the acceptability
of the (4) .............. conduct in each case. The vignettes were all combinations of
five factors : (a) the (5) .............. of the disease, (b) the elderly patient’s wishes about
(6) .............., (c) the level of social support during hospitalization, (d) the elderly
patient’s psychological (7) .............., and (e) the physician’s decision about how to
communicate the bad news. The French participants reported a stronger tendency
to (8) .............. the view that physicians should always tell the (9) .............. directly
to the patient than the Togolese participants. In contrast, there was a stronger
tendency among the Togolese participants than among the French to endorse the
view that physicians should inform the patient’s (10) .............. first.
116
28) Why patients refuse to take antibiotics

Consumption of antibiotics is on the rise in most countries, especially in coun-
tries forming the BRICS group. Although use of antibiotics in developing parts of
the world should be encouraged, the current level of consumption in developed
countries raises concerns for public health. Irresponsible antibiotic use may have
detrimental effects – increasing antibiotic resistance (at the public health level)
and causing side effects (at the patient level), either directly through gastrointes-
tinal side effects and allergic reactions or indirectly by changing the nature of the
gut flora. In order to help public institutions and physicians change patterns of
consumption among patients, it is important to better understand the reasons
why people agree to take antibiotic drugs but also why they sometimes refuse to
take ones that have been duly prescribed. The purpose of this study was therefore
to explore, in a systematic way, the reasons people give for refusing to take them.
The participants were a convenience sample of 418 French adults enrolled
during daylight hours by two trained research assistants. All the participants who
agreed to take part in the study had been prescribed antibiotics in the past by their
physician. Most of the time, they had decided to take them, but sometimes they had
not to take them or to discontinue the treatment. The ages ranged from 18 to 85.
A 70-item questionnaire of motives was created. The common wording of all
items – “One of the reasons I have come to refuse to take antibiotics was” – was
chosen to reflect the fact that several motives can be operating at the same time or
at different times for the same person. The two extremes of the scale were labeled
“Never happened for this motive” (1) and “Frequently happened” (15).
An exploratory factor analysis was conducted. It showed that 34 reason-not-to-
take items of motives did not load (correlation < .30) on any factor or loaded on
more than one factor. They were removed from the analyses, and a second factor
analysis was conducted. Four interpretable factors with eigenvalues ranging from
1.45 to 14.88 were observed.

The first factor (34% of the variance) was labelled Secondary Gain since it
loaded on items expressing the idea that through prolonged illness a person can
benefit from increased social support and may also be able to more easily control
the surrounding social environment (M = 3.92). The second factor – Bacterial
Resistance (14%) – expressed the idea that the irresponsible use of antibiotics may
facilitate the process of bacterial resistance (M = 6.41). The third factor – Self-
defense (10%) – expressed the idea that the body was able to defend itself against the
infection, in particular when it was not severe (M = 8.92). Finally, the fourth factor
117
– Lack of trust (8%) – expressed the idea that one may not always be fully confident
in the prescriber’s competence (M = 5.09).
The most strongly expressed motive for refusing to take antibiotics was therefore
belief in the idea that one’s body was not severely endangered by the infection and,
as a result, would be able to defend itself successfully. This kind of motive was found
among people who were especially likely to believe that antibiotics were ineffec-
tive. The second most strongly favored motive for refusal was directly related to
concerns about bacterial resistance, but this commendable vision seemed to have
its limitations in that it was voiced especially by people who : (a) had experienced
problems with antibiotic treatment, (b) thought that antibiotics were generally
ineffective, and (c) did not hesitate to stop treatment inappropriately. Two other
motives to refuse antibiotics were found : (1) the presence of secondary gain asso-
ciated with prolonged illness, especially among older people, and (2) lack of trust in
the prescriber, especially among people who had bad issues with antibiotics in the
past and who also reported behaving in a way that, paradoxically, was potentially
dangerous for themselves (i.e., keeping antibiotics after treatment for later use).
Although it is certainly a good thing that people are sometimes unwilling to
take antibiotics, there seems to be a gap between the wisdom or altruism of their
reasoning and how they report their behavior. They were more aware than others
of the public health issue and of their body’s capacity to defend itself against infec-
tions, but at the same time they also tended more than others to report behaviors
that were at variance with their motives. In particular, they did not hesitate to
stop treatment before it had been completed – in other words, to do what would
facilitate mutations and adaptations in microorganisms.
Selective reference for further reading

Bagnulo, A., Muñoz Sastre, M.T., Kpanake, Guedj, M., Muñoz Sastre, M.T., & Mullet,
L., Sorum, P.C., & Mullet, E. (2019). Why E. (2011). Donating organs : A theo-
patients want to take or refuse to take ry-driven inventory of motives.
antibiotics : An inventory of motives. Psychology, Health & Medicine, 16,
BMC Public Health, 19, 41. https://doi. 418-429.
org/10.1186/s12889-019-6834-x
118
Exercise 28
List of terms
(a) patterns - (b) Gain - (c) motives - (d) four-factor - (e) assertions - (f) detri-
mental - (g) issue - (h) questionnaire - (i) previous - (j) Self-defense

Inappropriate use of antibiotics is a worldwide (1) ............... In order to help
public health institutions and physicians change (2) .............. of consumption among
patients, it is important to better understand the reasons why people refuse to take
the antibiotic drugs. This study explored the (3) .............. people give for refusing to
take antibiotics. 418 adults aged from 18 to 85 filled out a 70-item (4) .............. that
consisted of (5) .............. regarding reasons for which the person had sometimes
refused to take antibiotics. A (6) .............. structure of motives not to take antibiotics
was found : Secondary (7) .............. (through prolonged illness), Bacterial Resistance,
(8) .............. (the body is able to defend itself) and Lack of trust. Scores on these
factors were related to participants’ demographics and (9) .............. experience with
antibiotics. Although people are generally willing to comply with their physician’s
prescription of antibiotics, a notable proportion of them report adopting behaviors
that are beneficial to microorganisms and, as a result, potentially (10) .............. to
humans.
29) Assessing hospitalized patients’ quality of life

from external indices
As soon as we walk into the hospital room, the sight of the patient connected
to a large quantity of tubes makes us, almost in spite of ourselves, wonder how
he or she is dealing with this experience. Before even thinking about it, we form a
judgment on the health-related quality of life of this relative, and, quite at the same
time, on the health-related quality of life that would be ours if we were placed in
such conditions.
This study aims to explore how people without any particular medical training
judge the quality of life of elderly hospitalized patients, based on available external
clues (e.g., is he or she breathing freely ?) and based on what they know about
what remains of this patient’s social life (e.g., does he or she have other visitors ?).
119
This study also aims to characterize people’s various positions on what defines the
quality of life of an inpatient (e.g., is it mainly the number of visits that matters ?).
The way in which people assess the quality of life of the members of their entou-
rage has been relatively little studied. Yet everyone is affected differently by the
degree to which parents, spouses, children, friends, and colleagues value their
current lives. The rhetorical question “How are you ?” might seem to reflect this
daily concern. In reality, most people who are asked this question simply respond
that everything is fine. The person asking the question often does not even hear
the answer. It’s a little different with elderly parents or with loved ones whom we
know are in poor health. Knowing this, we tend to try to form a personal opinion
of their lives and compare this opinion with (a) what they themselves tell us about
it and (b) what the people in charge of their health (e.g., their nurse) and well-being
(e.g., their caregiver) might tell us.
The use of a standardized instrument to measure patients’ quality of life is now
common practice. It remains, however, important to know more about how lay
people assess their relatives’ well-being. A spouse’s opinion can differ from a health-
care provider’s opinion, from an objective score obtained through the application
of a standardized scale, and even from the patient’s own statement. Divergences in
opinion can create misunderstandings and loss of confidence. The present study
also examined whether people’s opinions are homogeneous or whether qualitatively
different positions exist among them regarding the way in which health-related
quality of life should be judged. For some people, visiting patients is of crucial
importance, and they make a duty not to leave their relatives alone even for a
minute. Visitors organizations have been created for this purpose. For other people,
pain relief and physical autonomy may be more important. Also, some people may
be so upset by the patient’s circumstances that they cannot prevent their negative
emotions from dominating their judgments. Finally, the present study compared
the positions on assessing health-related quality of life of lay people and healthcare
professionals.
120
10
9 Cluster Almost N = 189

Physically
Always Low Dependant
8 Interm.
Physically
Independent
7
Health-Related Quality of Life
1
Psychologically
0
Dependent Interm. Independ. Dependent Interm. Independ. Dependent Interm. Independ.
No Visits Some Visits Frequent Visits
10
9 Cluster Depends Physically

Dependant N = 231
on Personal
Interm.
8 and Social Physically
Circumstances Independent
5
1
Psychologically
0
10
121
9
Cluster Depends N = 54
Mainly on
Psychologically
0
10
9
Cluster Depends N = 54
Mainly on
8
Social Support
7
Physically
3 Dependant
Interm.
2 Physically
Independent
1
Psychologically
0
Figure 2 - Health-related quality of life judgments are on the vertical axis

The three psychological dependence levels are on the horizontal axis (Dependent,
Intermediary, and Independent). The three curves correspond to the three levels of physical
autonomy. Each panel corresponds to one level of social support. Each set of three panels
corresponds to one cluster : Almost Always Low (left panels), Depends on Personal and Social
Circumstances (right panels), and Depends Mainly on Social Support (bottom panels).
The participants were 474 adults (among them 7 physicians, 57 nurses, and

42 nurse’s aides) living around Toulouse, aged 18-90 years. The material was
composed of 54 vignettes showing a realistic scenario and a response scale. Each
scenario depicted the situation of a terminally ill patient who suffered from an
incurable illness but whose life was not in immediate danger. The scenarios were
created by orthogonally combining the levels of four factors : Chronic Pain (e.g.,
controlled easily) x Social Support (e.g., frequent visits from friends and relatives)
x Mental Status (e.g., some alterations of consciousness) x Physical Autonomy
(e.g., completely dependent). Responses were given on a continuous scale, the two
anchors of which were labeled Very low (0) and Excellent (10).
In order to detect qualitatively different positions among the participants,
a cluster analysis was performed. A three-cluster solution was the one that seemed
optimal. It partitioned the sample into three groups of 189, 231, and 54 participants,
122
and the percentages of lay people and healthcare providers were remarkably similar
in each cluster.
The first cluster was the expected pessimistic cluster. As can be observed in
Figure 2 (left panels), most ratings were quite low. This cluster was called Almost
Always Low. The second cluster was called Depends on Personal and Social
Circumstances because, as can be observed in Figure 2 (right panels), ratings were
higher in the case of physical autonomy, in the case of good mental status, and
when the level of social support was high than in the opposite cases. In addition,
the impact of mental status on ratings depended on the levels of autonomy and
supports. The third cluster was the expected social support cluster (bottom panels).
It was called Depends Mainly on Social Support.
From observable indices of disease and social support, the participants in this
study were quite capable of inferring a certain level of health-related quality of
life, and this type of inference seems to be quasi-automatic. Overall, health-re-
lated quality of life assessments in the present study were low. Yet among these
participants, we found three different positions related to what is important when
judging the quality of life of a hospitalized patient.
Some people (40%) take a particularly pessimistic view of the quality of life of
people whose health is unlikely to improve. Even when physical and mental auto-
nomy is preserved, pain is relieved, and visits are frequent, they seem to think that
such a life is no longer worth living. This pessimistic view seems to be somewhat
more common among older people who had only a primary education and who do
not regularly attend a temple or a church. It is likely that for these people – who are
probably used to being active – a life outside the home, immobile, and dependent
on caregivers must be particularly painful.
Others (49%) think that, in certain circumstances, a certain quality of life can be
preserved. However, for this to happen, the situation must be nearly ideal. If one
disorder exists (e.g., lack of physical independence), then health-related quality of
life estimates drop considerably.
In addition, a small number of people (11%) agree with volunteer patient-visiting

organizations that, what is most important thing is to provide hospitalized patients
with social support. These people are, unsurprisingly, more likely to regularly prac-
tice a religion. They are also more likely to be familiar with similar cases and,
therefore, probably less emotionally upset when considering the plight of very sick,
hospitilalized people. Finally, health professionals did not differ fundamentally
from lay people in their positions regarding what determines the quality of life of
their patients.
123
Selective reference for further reading

Gamelin, A., Muñoz Sastre, M.T., Sorum, Muñoz Sastre, M.T., Castanié, S., Sorum,
P.C., & Mullet, E. (2006). Eliciting uti- P.C., & Mullet, E. (2021). Assessing
lities using functional methodology : hospitalized patients’ quality of life
People’s disutilities for the adverse from external indices : The perspec-
outcomes of cardiopulmonary resus- tives of lay people and health profes-
citation. Quality of Life Research, 15, sionals. Quality of Life Research, 30,
429-439. 2819-2827.
Exercise 29
List of terms
(a) religion - (b) Social Support - (c) assess - d) quality of life - (e) lay - (f) conver-
sing - (g) pessimistic - (h) consciousness - (i) orthogonally - (j) cluster analysis
- (k) terminally - (l) ideal

The authors examined the way people (1) .............. hospitalized patients’ quality
of life from what they immediately observe when entering the patient’s room, from
what they learn by (2) .............. with the patient, and from what they know about the
patient’s social life. A sample of 474 adults (among them, 7 physicians, 57 nurses,
and 42 nurse’s aides) aged 18–90 years was presented with 54 realistic scena-
rios depicting the situation of a (3) .............. ill patient, and created by (4) ..............
combining the levels of four factors : chronic pain (e.g., requiring powerful painkil-
lers), social support (e.g., some visits), mental status (e.g., alterations of 5) ..............),
and physical autonomy. In each case, they assessed the patient’s health-related
6) ............... Through 7) .............., three different positions were found. They were
labeled “Almost always low” (40%), “Depends on personal and social circumstances”
(49%), and “Depends mainly on (8)............”. (11%). Health professionals did not
differ fundamentally from (9) .............. people in their positions regarding what
determines the health-related quality of life of their patients.
Many people take a particularly (10) .............. view of the quality of life of people
whose health is unlikely to improve. Others think that, in certain circumstances,
a certain quality of life can be preserved but for this to happen, the situation must
be nearly (11) ............... A minority composed mainly of people who regularly prac-
tice a (12) .............. expressed a position consistent with the insistence of volunteer
patient-visiting organizations on the importance of providing hospitalized patients
with social support.
124
30) Fostering the mobility of older adults

The mobility of older adults, an important issue
for their social participation
Defined as a person’s involvement in activities that provide interactions with
others in community life and in important shared spaces, evolving according to
available time and resources, and based on the societal context as well as what
individuals want and is meaningful to them (Levasseur et al., 2022), social parti-
cipation is associated with many health outcomes such as mortality, morbidity,
hospitalization and functional autonomy in older adults. Participating socially
requires the ability to move from home to the community. Hence, mobility is an
important factor for engagement in social participation activities.
In industrialized countries, the car is the means of transportation for older
adults, especially for those living on the outskirts of urban centers, or in a rural
environments. In addition to allowing one to move quickly and at the chosen time
from one place to another, driving a car is associated with personal freedom, pride,
and sense of control over one’s life. Driving is however a complex activity relying
on a variety of motor, sensory and cognitive functions, whose integrity may be
altered by aging (Staplin, Lococo, Martell, & Stutts, 2012).
At the motor level, the decrease in muscle strength, coordination and flexibility
can impact driving activity. For example, stiffness in the neck can limit head rota-
tion movements, which are essential for verifying one’s blind spot in cars that are
not equipped with cameras. Age-related decline of sensory abilities may prevent
the driver from seeing potential hazards properly and may cause difficulty driving
at night and hearing audible signals, such as horns. The decline of executive func-
tions with age can also have a major impact, as updating information, anticipation,
and planning action are capacities which are strongly mobilized in driving. Driving
requires paying attention to relevant information and ignoring other informa-
tion in an often complex road environment. The alteration of attention with age
can thus affect the ability to perceive potential danger in the driver’s visual field.
Finally, increases in reaction time can have serious consequences when it comes
to reacting quickly, for example, when braking to avoid hitting a bicycle that has
suddenly appeared.
Hence, some complex driving situations such as merging onto a highway or
changing lanes become particularly challenging for older adults, and the difficul-
ties caused by aging can increase the risk of accidents. Moreover, older drivers
are more vulnerable and more subject to injuries or even death than younger ones
125
when involved in a road accident. When they begin to have trouble driving, some
older adults will stop this activity while others will not consider doing so, even if
there is a risk to their and others’ safety. However, early cessation of driving can
have negative consequences for older adults’ physical and mental health, leading
for example to declining cognitive function and higher risks of depression, health
problems, use of health services and mortality (Chihuri, Mielenz, DiMaggio, Betz,
DiGuiseppi, Jones, & Li, 2016). Allowing older drivers to correctly estimate their
driving abilities is important. On the one hand, an older driver who tends to unde-
restimate his or her driving ability will tend to decrease or stop driving early, which
will have a deleterious effect on his or her quality of life. On the other hand, an
older driver who overestimates his or her abilities will not be aware of the need
to train or adapt his or her driving and may behave in a way that is dangerous
to the self and others. Some interventions exist to better support older adults’
self-evaluation.
Intervene to maintain safe driving

Since the effects of aging are heterogeneous from one individual to another and
occur at various ages, it appears necessary to propose a variety of interventions, to
offer an accompaniment that can be personalized. Hence, there are interventions
with practical training, more educational programs, and others that combine theo-
retical and practical aspects.
If they are preventively applied and at the right moment, several interventions
can be undertaken to maintain safe driving despite aging. For example, older adults
can directly improve their driving skills in practical driving courses. Physical,
social and cognitive activities are also indirect means of maintaining driving skills
through limiting physical and cognitive decline. Older drivers can also compen-
sate for a decline in driving abilities by consciously modifying their behaviors, i.e.,
by undertaking compensatory strategies or self-regulatory strategies. Examples
of compensatory strategies are changing one’s vehicle to one with an automatic
transmission when having musculoskeletal difficulties, avoiding driving during
the night when experiencing visual decline, and reducing travel times and travel
during peak hours. To increase awareness of older drivers regarding their need to
sharpen their skills and/or undertake behavioral changes, it is necessary to help
them better recognize age-related changes and their impact. Indeed, some older
drivers overestimate their driving skills and need to be accompanied to become
aware of any age-related decline.
Among the theoretical programs, we can cite the Awareness Tool for Safe and
Responsible Driving (Levasseur et al., 2015), also named OSCAR (in French : Outil
126
de Sensibilisation des conducteurs âgés aux capacitées requises pour une Conduite
Automobile sécuritaire et Responsable). OSCAR is a written document based on
theoretical models that calls upon older adults to self-evaluate with respect to
age-related decline that may potentially impact their driving and offers compensa-
tory strategies they can adopt to compensate for this decline. Research has shown
that OSCAR significantly increases interest, openness, and knowledge about abili-
ties and compensatory strategies among older drivers (Levasseur et al., 2015). In
addition, half of the participants started using 6 or more compensatory strategies
following self-assessment with OSCAR. Among other kinds of intervention there
is 55 Alive, an educational program developed by the American Association of
Retired Persons. A study revealed that, combined with driving courses, 55 Alive
program improves knowledge and on-road behavior among older drivers (Bédard
et al., 2008). Hence, it is possible to intervene to prolong safe driving. However, the
cessation of driving sometimes becomes inevitable. In this case, it is also necessary
to accompany this step to facilitate it.
Supporting driving cessation to support mobility

and social participation
Cessation of driving is a difficult transition, sometimes bereaved by the older
adults who experience it. Indeed, stopping driving is associated with decreased
physical health and social network size, increased risk of mortality and depression,
and greater use of health services (Chihuri et al., 2016). Hence, it seems essential
to support older adults in their cessation of driving so that they can accept it and
maintain their mobility and social participation.
Accepting and coping with driving cessation can be supported applying several
levers. Firstly, planning for this step may make it easier to accept, as well as having
the opportunity to interact with peers, whether before, during, or after quitting
driving. In addition, the presence of alternative means of transportation in the
environment could allow older adults to continue to get around. Although there are
alternatives to driving, such as walking, having a relative drive you, and using public
transportation, these alternatives need to not only be known to older adults, but
also perceived by them as easy to use. It is therefore important to help older adults
learn to use alternative means of transportation and reduce perceived barriers to
the alternatives before they cease driving.
An intervention, CarFreeMe developed in Australia (Liddle et al., 2013),
carried out in groups over several weeks, applies these different levers. Through
theory, moments of exchange between peers and practical experiments (such
as a bus outing), CarFreeMe facilitates acceptance of the situation by older
127
adults who have stopped driving, or who are in the process of stopping driving.
The intervention makes them aware of resources and alternative transport and
prevents a restriction of their mobility and their social participation (Liddle et
al. 2013).
More generally, it is important to consider implementing public policies that
encourage and promote the full participation of older adults in society. The
Age-friendly Cities and Communities approach, which aims to adapt the territory
to the needs and expectations of older adults over time, makes it possible to support
the mobility of seniors, regardless of their abilities. Territories that offer sufficient
public transport, adapted to all and easy to use, can also foster the mobility of older
adults who can no longer drive.
Considering the importance of mobility to the social participation and health
of older adults, it is necessary to intervene to support their mobility despite any
age-related decline. Whether it is to maintain driving or assist with its cessation,
the interventions must be personalized to the older person’s needs and target the
maintenance of his or her engagement in social activities as well as the preserva-
tion of a social network. More research in this field is also needed. For example,
a better understanding of the effects of ageism, including self-directed, on driving
and its cessation is paramount.

Bédard, M., Porter, M.M., Marshall, S., for safe and responsible driving
Isherwood, I., Riendeau, J., Weaver, (OSCAR) : A potential educational
B., Tuokko, H., Molnar, F. et Miller- intervention for increasing interest,
Polgar, J. (2008). The combination of openness and knowledge about
two training approaches to improve the abilities required and compen-
older adults’ driving safety. Traffic satory strategies among older dri-
Injury Prevention, 9(1), 70-76. vers. Traffic injury prevention, 16(6),
Chihuri, S., Mielenz, T.J., DiMaggio, C.J., 578-586.
Betz, M.E., DiGuiseppi, C., Jones, V.C. Levasseur, M., Lussier-Therrien, M.,
et Li, G. (2016). Driving cessation and Biron, M.L., Raymond, É., Castonguay,
health outcomes in older adults. J., Naud, D., …. & Tremblay, L. (2022).
Journal of the American Geriatrics Scoping study of definitions of
Society, 64(2), 332-341. social participation : update and
Levasseur, M., Audet, T., Gélinas, I., Bédard, co-construction of an interdiscipli-
M., Langlais, M.È., Therrien, F.H., …. & nary consensual definition. Age and
D’Amours, M. (2015). Awareness tool Ageing, 51(2), afab215.
128
Liddle, J., Haynes, M., Pachana, N.A., Staplin, L., Lococo, K.H., Martell, C.,
Mitchell, G., McKenna, K., & Gustafsson, Stutts, J., & TransAnalytics, L.L.C.
L. (2013). Effect of a group intervention (2012). Taxonomy of Older Driver
to promote older adults’ adjustment Behaviors and Crash Risk : Appendix
to driving cessation on community D (No. DOT HS 811 468C). United States.
mobility : A randomized controlled National Highway Traffic Safety
trial. Gerontologist, 54(3), 409-422. Administration.
Exercise 30
Questions
1) Why is mobility a social participation factor ?
2) List three consequences of driving cessation in older people.
3) What is the first step to undertake skills training or compensatory strategies ?
4) What is the format of the OSCAR intervention ?
5) In which country was the CarFreeMe intervention developed ?
31) Awe : conditions of emergence and properties

According to Keltner and Haidt (2003), awe is most favorably experienced in
the presence of the infinitely great (such as the immensity of an ocean or a desert),
which challenges us, surpasses us, enchants us, even transcends us. It can for
example be aroused by grandiose and breathtaking natural phenomena (such as a
violent storm), or a breathtaking panorama (such as the one offered by a vertiginous
canyon, gigantic waterfalls, a magnificent forest populated by hundred-year-old
sequoias, etc.). It can also be induced by people who impress us, fascinate us and
arouse our admiration.
At the center of the experience of awe is often a feeling of fragility or smallness,

not shame-producing, but rather inducing a desire for interconnection with
Nature and/or with others. What is more, what is judged to be beautiful proves
to be particularly generative of awe. It can be human creations, such as a musical
masterpiece, a master painting, a moving speech, a movement of citizens. Awe
can also be borne of contact with an infant who moves us, or from a trans-
cendent spiritual experience. Finally, let us note that awe occurs more readily in
response to a surprising event, causing uncertainty and likely provoking a state
of perplexity in us. It can sometimes be tinged with fear when it involves being
129
confronted with terrifying grandiose phenomena, such as a violent storm or a

mighty tempest at sea.
Whatever its content, the propensity to experience awe, and the extent to which
it is felt, will depend on two types of combined subjective evaluations, which accor-
ding to Keltner and Haidt (2003), are specific to this type of experience. Namely :
• the evaluation of the importance of the stimulus triggering the state of awe, as
being perceptually, or conceptually, vast or grand. For example, a panoramic
view or a complex theory (such as Einstein’s theory of relativity) may be
considered triggers of awe ;
• the evaluation of the need for cognitive accommodation that follows :
this second evaluative dimension refers to the modification of our mental
patterns and our logic of thought generated by the state of awe, with regard
to the new information to be processed. For example, understanding
Einstein’s theory of relativity requires us to modify our usual understanding
of time and space. However, awe does not necessarily always require us to
restructure our cognitive schemas : it sometimes only invites us to open up
to the new, and therefore does not always fundamentally disrupt our habits
of thought.
Keltner and Haidt (2003) have also identified five parameters that can provoke
and color the experience of awe :
1) Beauty : aesthetically appealing aspects are a priori the most likely to promote
awe ;
2) Admiration : it can color our experience of awe when we meet exemplary beings
who, in our opinion, have extraordinary talents and abilities ;
3) Virtue : people of high moral character can sometimes also make us feel elevated
by the deference we show them ;
4) The supernatural : it is more particularly the attribute of certain religious or
spiritual experiences, even a qualifier used to characterize the experiences of
flights in space ;
5) The threat : awe can possibly also occur when an individual is confronted with
something potentially dangerous. This is why the faces of people reporting a
personal experience of awe sometimes show a mixture of surprise and fear.
Data from the literature on the benefits of awe

In general, awe is considered a positive (and/or aesthetic) experience by resear-
chers of psychology who are interested in this phenomenon. It is a source of
multiple health and well-being benefits (Aguerre & Mortazavi, 2022).
130
Chapitre 4
Psychologie sociale/
Social psychology
Sommaire
35) The reasons for love and friendship : conscious or unconscious ?
(Audio 35 et Exercise 35) .......................................................... 135
36) Prosocial behavior (Film 2) ....................................................... 139
37) Civility in urban environments :
Is politeness outdated ? (Exercise 37) ............................................. 143
38) The power of conformity (Films 3 et 4) .................................... 148
39) Destructive obedience to authority (Film 5) ............................. 151
40) Killing an animal in the name of science (Exercise 40) ................... 155
41) Attitudes, attitude change and persuasion (Exercise 41)................ 159
42) Prejudices, stereotypes and discrimination
(Film 6 et Exercise 42)............................................................... 162
43) Psychology of women : from the margins to the mainstream
(Films 7 et 8) ............................................................................. 168
44) Regret : Its role in our lives (Audio 44) (Film 9) .................... 171
45) Free will compliance and binding communication (Film 10) ....... 174

46) Alcohool and aggression : three main perspectives (Exercise 46)
47) Environmental psychology : scope and utility of a contextualised
psychology (Exercise 47)
48) Seeking forgiveness in an intergroup context (Audio 48)
49) Talking about something or talking to someone ? (Exercise 49)
Psychologie sociale/Social psychology ■ Chapitre 4
Social psychologists cover a wide range of topics in their research. The topics
are all connected by the desire of researchers to understand and explain how
individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of other
individuals or groups. In other words, social psychologists are interested in the
impact that both the social environment, and social interaction with other people,
have on someone’s attitudes and behaviours. In the wide field covered by social
psychologists, some of the major topics include : social cognition, attitudes and how
they change, aggression/violence and its counterpart-prosocial behaviour, prejudice
and discrimination, social identity, group behaviour, persuasion techniques, and
social influence. Research based on both traditional and more recent topics will
be covered in this section.
35) The reasons for love and friendship :

conscious or unconscious ? (Audio 35)
Love, friendship, and interpersonal attraction have been the focus of social
psychology research for over 50 years. They offer a sharp contrast between scien-
tists’, experts’ explanations and taxonomies, and spontaneous, often implicit
theories or relational schemas related to feelings of attraction.
Theories of love and friendship

Love entails a variety of concepts (Lamy, 2007), sometimes very broad and unspe-
cified (e.g., “It is an emotion”), sometimes more specific and possibly contradictory.
Love is supposed to bring intense joy, but also suffering. It unites and destroys. It
can be viewed as intrusive and obsessive thinking about the beloved one, or intense
longing for his/her presence. Conversely, in later stages of the relationship or in
other persons, it is conceptualized as a kind of serene friendship or secure attach-
ment. Love can be selfish or altruistic. Lovers tend to idealize their partner – wear
“rose-colored glasses” – but they also develop greater empathy towards them than
towards strangers.
The representation of friendship includes three components (Maisonneuve,
2004) : friends are those with whom we can truly communicate, and who unders-
tand us; they are faithful; they help each other – “true friends are those who remain
when things go wrong”.
135
Differences are visible, similarities go unnoticed

Most people believe both that “birds of a feather flock together”, and that “oppo-
sites attract”. Previous research, however, has shown that only the first adage is
true. Friends or lovers are more alike than random strangers measured demogra-
phically on age, sex (for friendship), education, religion, and social status. They
share similar values and attitudes. They tend to resemble each other in personality
and in their cognitive and emotional style. Moreover, people tend to believe that
similar individuals will like them and that dissimilar ones will dislike them, which,
in turn, leads to an overestimation of similarity among close partners.
Similarity can be interpreted as a reward or belief validation : the agreement
between partners appears to confirm for both of them that they are right to think
or behave the way they do. But similarity is also an underlying factor, because we
are constantly surrounded by people who resemble us : same residential location,
same job, same educational level, same age, same leisure activities, etc. Therefore,
the field of eligible individuals from which we choose our mate or friends is mainly
composed of similar others. However, it remains unnoticed that, even if we have
the right to love or like any human being, we don’t have the opportunity to meet
any (or every) human being. Moreover, these choices among physically close or
similar others appear to be “natural” because we tend to feel more attracted to
familiar – as opposed to unfamiliar – others (mere exposure effect).
Physical attractiveness is more visible than the reasons

why we long for it
Male and female attractive targets are presumed to have more desirable traits
than physically unattractive targets, to be more socially skilled, to represent exci-
ting dates, and to be involved in happier marriages. Despite the fact that ratings
of attractiveness are often considered personal and largely non-consensual among
adults, people tend mostly to agree about who is attractive and who is not. However,
they are unaware that criteria of physical beauty fit the main assumptions of evolu-
tionary psychology (Buss, 1999). Men prefer women with a WHR (waist-to-hip
ratio) of 0.7, and women whose WHR nears 0.7 are those who get pregnant more
easily and have the highest likelihood of being in good health. Further, men and
women are attracted to people whose faces and bodies are most symmetrical, which
signals good genes and good health. Women prefer men who display cues of high
status, good earning, and high commitment to the relationship, because it ensures
that their offspring will be protected and will survive.
136
Friends and lovers are matched with individuals of similar levels of physical
attractiveness, but – with the exception of men recording interest in female
partners – persuade themselves that their choices are only based on the inner
qualities and skills of those they like or love.
Relationship experts versus withdrawers

Regarding love and friendship, women have been described as being more aware
of relationships compared to men. They display more emotion and value closeness
and intimacy. They have an interdependent self-construal, i.e., relationships are
part of their identity. In contrast, men have an independent self-construal, i.e., their
self-definition is based on their own unique attributes and on a sense of autonomy
from others (Markus & Kittayama, 1994). Men have more difficulty explaining
personal relationships. Married men tend to talk about their relationships in order
to fix a conflict, whereas wives consider relationship talk as an end in itself. Women
also spend more time thinking about relationships and describe them in a more
sophisticated fashion. They have a better memory for relationship events, e.g., a
first date. Women are more pragmatic and more cautious during relationship
initiation, while men endorse romantic beliefs more frequently, such as “love at
first sight” or “predestination of soul-mates”. Thus it can be asserted that women
have a better consciousness of the reasons why people get involved in – or put an
end to – personal relationships.
When empathic accuracy comes to be an enemy

Both men and women may exhibit reduced empathic accuracy when it allows
them to maintain positive – though unrealistic – beliefs about their partners or about
their current relationships. Realistic views may have a destructive impact on intimate
relationships, thus inducing partners to prefer inaccurate mind-reading. For example,
dating partners tend to avoid awareness of their mate’s possible interest in an attrac-
tive alternative partner. Men and women also tend to overestimate how similar their
partner’s opinions, feelings, and personality traits are to their own. When attracted
to someone, they try to guess the probability of being liked or loved in return, but
the probability of a realistic evaluation decreases when the need for love increases.
Idealization in couples is connected to satisfaction regarding the relationship :
those who perceive their partners more positively than the partners view them-
selves receive more emotional benefit from their relationships. Therefore, such
positive illusions (Murray, Holmes, & Griffin, 1999) are a means by which people
can maintain long-term relationships.
137
Causes of attraction may be worth thinking about,

consequences go unnoticed
Previous research, just as natural thinking, has focused almost exclusively on
the antecedents of attraction : why do we like or love ? Which people are likely to
be attracted to each other ? However, an epistemological shift is needed, in order
to clarify the possible consequences of love and friendship. Now, it is well-docu-
mented that social ties may be linked to mental and physical health (mortality and
morbidity). However, such epidemiological studies are based on marital status or
social networks, and thus loosely connected to the cognition of love. Consequences
of feelings on memory or judgment are well documented too, but research is mostly
restricted to positive versus negative moods, and to feelings other than love (e.g.,
fear, disgust, or anger).
Recent research (e.g., Lamy, Fischer-Lokou, & Guéguen, 2008) has found that the
mere suggestion of the idea of love may trigger increased helpfulness. Therefore,
further research will need to test for cognitive, emotional, and behavioral effects
that may occur when the idea of love is made salient.

Buss, D.M. (1999). Evolutionary psycho- Markus, H.R., & Kitayama, S. (1994). A
logy : the new science of the mind. collective fear of the collective :
Boston : Allyn & Bacon. Implications for selves and theories
Lamy, L. (2007). L’amour ne doit rien au of selves. Personality and Social
hasard. Paris : Eyrolles. Psychology Bulletin, 20, 568-579.
Lamy, L., Fischer-Lokou, J., & Guéguen, N. Murray, S.L., Holmes, J.G., & Griffin,
(2008). Semantically induced memo- D.W. (1996). The benefits of posi-
ries of love and helping behavior. tive illusions : Idealization and the
Psychological Reports, 102, 418-424. construction of satisfaction in close
Maisonneuve, J. (2004). Psychologie de relationships. Journal of Personality
l’amitié. Paris : PUF. and Social Psychology, 70, 79-98.
138
Exercise 35
Fill in the blanks in the sentences below with the most appropriate term from
the following list.
List of terms
(a) positive illusions - (b) “rose-coloured glasses” - (c) “true friends are those who
remain when things go wrong” - (d) “birds of a feather flock together” - (e) “oppo-
sites attract” - (f) mere exposure effect - (g) intrusive and obsessive thoughts.

In terms of the two familiar myths, research demonstrates that (1) .................. but
not that (2) ................... When people idealize their lovers, we say they are wearing
(3) ................... When people fall in love they often experience (4) .................. about
the person they love. One of the most important findings about friendship is that
(5) .................. We tend to feel more attracted to familiar – as opposed to unfami-
liar – others. This could be a (6) ................... (7) .................. consist of viewing our
partners more positively than they view themselves.
36) Prosocial behavior (Film 2)

The starting point of modern research on prosocial behavior is known as
the “Kitty Genovese incident”. On March 13, 1964, when returning to her home
in Queens (New York), a 29-year old woman was attacked and stabbed over a
45-minute period while witnesses were listening or watching from their apart-
ments without intervening. Diffusion of responsibility is one of the key concepts
that were proposed in order to explain this “bystander apathy” : people feel less
personally accountable for helping when they believe other persons are present
and might intervene.
Helping and altruism

Prosocial behavior refers to helping and altruism. Helping is an action that
provides a benefit or improves the well-being of another person (Dovidio et al.,
2006). Casual, substantial, emotional, or emergency helping can occur. It can be
planned or spontaneous. Altruism is a motivational state (Batson, 1991); its goal
139
is to increase another’s welfare, with no (apparent) benefit to oneself. Altruism is

triggered particularly when one feels empathy or sympathy for the person in need
of help. When one has a sense of “oneness” with the person in need, i.e., experiences
shared or interconnected identities, being altruistic toward the other person is
being altruistic towards oneself.
Evidence supports the view that true altruism exists, as well as self-benefiting
helping behavior which is, for example, motivated by concerns to stop witnessing
someone suffering, to improve one’s own mood, to promote self-esteem by being
helpful, and to expect social benefits such as fame or gratitude. It must also be
emphasized that there are costs for not helping as well as for helping. When choo-
sing not to help, one can feel guilty, selfish, or having contravened a social norm
(e.g., a man is expected to help a woman in distress in a public setting).
Men as helpers, women as deserving help ?

Despite contradictory findings, research on sex differences and helping behavior
has reached the conclusion (Eagly & Crowley, 1986) that men are more helpful
than women, and that women receive more help than men. Also, men help women
more than men and women seek help more than men do.
These differences have been interpreted in light of the social role theory of
helping that states men and women behave according to their gender roles. The
masculine gender role promotes helping that is heroic and chivalrous, whereas the
feminine gender role promotes helping that is nurturant and caring. In line with
these expectancies it has been found, for example, that men were more helpful
than women to a man who fell in the subway, or to a person whose car had broken
down. Women were more helpful than men if they were asked to help a friend or
lover, or a person confronted with personal or emotional problems.
The salience of a helping norm also contributes to greater helping. According
to the fact that most studies of helping behavior have been conducted in public,
as compared to private settings, gender differences in helping behavior may be
accounted for by social pressure that reminds potential helpers of the way they
should behave. For example, in a city street, men should be brave and protect
helpless persons. Men should be strong and independent, and, therefore, avoid
asking for help. Women should be cautious in public settings, and emotionally
expressive in private, personal settings.
140
Chivalrous, or paternalistic helping ?

Chivalrous helping has been defined as the protection granted to individuals
who are less able and powerful. It can be considered a survival of medieval knights’
code of honor, which was imposed to protect “the widow and the orphan” and,
more generally, the weak and defenseless – among whom, notably, are women.
“Archaic, symbolic, or anachronistic forms of chivalry” (Lamy, Fischer-Lokou, &
Guéguen, 2010) may have survived, in which the male is perceived as strong and a
protector, while the female is perceived as weak, passive, and in need of protection.
Social norms and standards dictate that men should be daring and courageous,
especially when a woman is in need of help. In addition, in dangerous and emer-
gency situations, another motive for intervening is one’s physical strength. Previous
research has found that male “heroes” who had prevented dangerous crimes were
taller, heavier, and more experienced, compared to a group of men who didn’t
intervene to save or rescue someone.
Because women, as a group, are shorter, lighter, and less muscular than men, it
can be asserted that they engage in heroic helping less frequently than men because
they presume their intervention might be unsuccessful, and they risk being harmed.
Conversely, men are stronger than women and socialized to be self-confident and
powerful. Obviously, these gender roles and the reminiscence of an ideology of
chivalry encompass paternalism and benevolent sexism (Viki, Abrams, & Hutchison,
2003), i.e., a representation of women treated courteously in so far as they endorse
women’s subordinate role. And it remains unsure if these representations and
behaviors can dissolve when men’s fear of subordination to women, and women’s
desire to be courteously treated, remain unchanged.
Love and helpfulness

Helpfulness can be considered as a particular type of love, among many others.
The concept of love is divided into subcategories such as romantic love, maternal
love, affection, and so on. Therefore, activating the concept of love may result in
the activation of its subcategories, thus reinforcing the awareness of helpfulness
in a relevant situation.
In a line of research aimed at testing a possible increase of helpfulness among
participants primed with the idea of love, Lamy (e.g., Lamy, Fischer-Lokou, &
Guéguen, 2009) found that participants induced to retrieve the memory of a love
episode were more helpful than those induced to retrieve the memory of a piece
of music. They more frequently helped a requester asking for money to take the
141
bus, or a person who had inadvertently lost a stack of CDs, or a lost person who
needed directions. Moreover, increases in helpfulness were obtained only when
the requester was female and the helper was male, i.e., in the case where chivalrous
helping was needed. In another study (Lamy, Fischer-Lokou, & Guéguen, 2010),
male participants who were asked for the direction of Valentine Street, as compared
to Martin Street, were more helpful to a female confederate whose cell phone had
been taken by a group of four disreputable-looking males who refused to return it.
It was hypothesized that the activation of the concept of love may enhance the
awareness of gender roles which, in turn, would enhance men’s chivalrous helping.
Also, when reminded of “Valentine”, spreading of activation to related concepts
would reinforce the awareness of love and gender-congruent roles.
Along with the social role theory of helping and socio-cognitive explanations,
we suggested that mood-maintenance effects could explain the above-mentioned
findings. Participants prompted to remind themselves of love or “Valentine”, feel
good, and thus might be actively helpful in order to maintain their good mood.
An alternative explanation is that positive moods are related to faster, less analytic
information-processing, which leads participants to decide more quickly, and
with less awareness of possible consequences, to give their help. These findings,
however, show that the mere activation of “love”, or “Valentine”, in the absence of
any romantic context, is sufficient to trigger enhanced helpfulness.

Batson, C.D. (1991). The altruism ques- love and chivalrous helping. Current
tion : toward a social-psychologi- Psychology, 28, 202-209.
cal Answer. Hillsdale, NJ : Lawrence Lamy, L., Fischer-Lokou, J., & Guéguen,
Erlbaum Associates. N. (2010). Valentine street promotes
Dovidio, J.F., Piliavin, J.A., Schroeder, D.A., & chivalrous helping. Swiss Journal of
Penner, L.A. (2006). The social psycho- Psychology, 69, 167-170.
logy of prosocial behavior. Mahwah, Viki, G.T., Abrams, D., & Hutchison,
NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. P. (2003). The “true” romantic :
Lamy, L., Fischer-Lokou, J., & Guéguen, Benevolent sexism and paternalistic
N. (2009). Induced reminiscence of chivalry. Sex Roles, 49, 533-537.
142
37) Civility in urban environments :

Is politeness outdated1 ?
At the very beginning of the last century, Simmel was already writing that life
in the city is characterized by egotistical behavior, detachment, and disinterest
towards others. The “Genovese case” (Latané and Darley, 1970) and the conclusions
of numerous research projects undertaken since then (Korte, 1980 ; Korte & Kerr,
1975 ; Krupat, 1985 ; Merrens, 1973 ; Moser, 1988) consistently demonstrate that
the conditions of urban life reduce the attention given to others and diminish our
behavioral availability to help others.
While in our society helping behavior reflects the rule of morality (it is "good"
to help others), civil behaviors are an expression of codified and formal relations,
and they involve more automated reactions than helping behaviors, which involve
deliberate interaction with a particular, identifiable individual. Civil behaviors refer
to tacit rules governing the regulation of social interaction, shared conventions
concerning what it is appropriate to do in everyday life (Goffman, 1974). Civility
finds its expression in politeness. Bernard (1995) emphasizes the disinterested
nature of acts of civility. In fact, politeness concerns relations with people unknown
to the individual, without the individual expecting any benefit in return for the
behavior. It is a behavior which is largely automatic or even reflexive, not requiring
the individual to make a deliberate decision.
Is politeness only an expression of a specifically urban way of life, and therefore
independent of the target person and environmental and situational conditions ?
Methodology
Politeness was operationalized by holding open the door of a large department
store for the person who entered after the research participant we were observing.
It was studied in two different urban contexts, a large city and a small city. Research
participants were observed at the entrances of large popular department stores. The
entrances contained swing doors which opened both outwards and inwards. The
central location of the shops allowed us to assume a strong heterogeneity of the
population, this type of shop being frequented by all segments of the population.
1. Moser, G.& Corroyer, D.(2001). Politeness in an urban environment : Is city life still synony-
mous with civility ? Environment & Behavior, 33(5), 611-625.
143
Participants were observed as they entered the department store. They had
to be alone, in an estimated age-range of 20 to 60, and have both hands free (so
if someone was carrying a handbag it had to have a shoulder strap). They had to
be followed by another person at a distance of four to six steps (measured by the
experimenter and marked on the ground) – the other person also had to be alone
with both hands free. The observation matrix included the following components:
• individual variables (sex of the participant and the person following the
participant);
• situational variables – the conditions in which the participant encountered the
door of the store;
• open (held open by the preceding person entering the store) or closed (not held
open or simply closed);
• the participant’s behaviour – holding open, or not holding open, the door for a
subsequent person entering the store.
Results
A total of 880 observations were made, 480 in Paris and 400 in the provincial city
of Nantes. On average, and over all conditions, participants held the door open for
the next person in a little more than half the cases (54% ; 476/880).
Analysis of the results concerned, first, the sex of the participant and of the
target-person; next, environmental and situational effects; and then interaction
effects.
Finally, for each of these questions, we are not only concerned with whether
each has an effect, but also with its relative size (Corroyer & Rouanet, 1994). Our
adopted criterion is that a difference of five percentage points or less is weak
– or negligible –whereas a difference of more than five points is significant. In
order to make such a statement on the importance of an effect, we include the
traditional chi-square test of observed frequencies (which only indicates a real
effect or an overall effect), as well as the Bayesian probabilities associated with
this effect (Bernard, 1986 ; 1999). We used the program IBF2XK. The probabilities
– or Bayesian inferences – are indicated by a "g", in order to distinguish them from
probabilities based on frequencies shown by the letter "p". Our reference criterion
of minimum Bayesian inference was g = .95 (95%).
(1) Individual variables : Forty-two percent of participants observed were men
(366/880) and fifty-eight percent women (514/880). In general, men held the door
open more often for the next person entering the store than women do (61% / 49% ;
Pearson chi square = 10.875, p = .001). The real difference was greater than five
144
percentage points (g = .97). However, we did not find more civil behavior towards
women than towards men, rather the opposite (53% for women compared to 56%
for men). Overall, civil behaviour did not vary according to the sex of the partici-
pant and the target person.
(2) Environmental conditions (the effects of urban size) : Polite behavior
occured more frequently in the provincial city than in Paris. In Nantes, 60%
(238/400) showed civil behavior while in Paris only half did so (50% ; 238/480).
This difference was significant (60% / 50% ; Pearson chi square = 8.64, p = .0033),
and also greater than five points (g = .93).
(3) Situational conditions (the effects of door held open for the participant
or door closed): The situational conditions encountered by the participants had an
effect on their respective behaviors. Participants encountered a closed door in a
little less than two-thirds of cases (64% ; 556/880 observations). In this case, they
engaged in a civil behavior on about half of the occasions (188/314 : 51%). For the
36% of participants who found the door held open by a person preceding them,
there was a tendency to replicate the behavior (60% / 51% ; Pearson chi square
= 6.572, p = .0104). This phenomenon only seemed to hold true for Paris.
(4) Interaction effects of environmental and situational conditions: In Paris,
participants’ behavior varied depending on whether they found the door open or
closed. When the door was closed, 45% (153/338) held it open for the next person,
while, when they found it open, 60% (85/142) in turn held it open for the next
person (45% / 60% ; Pearson chi square = 10.59, p = .0002). One can conclude by
inference that there was a difference greater than 5 points (g = .97).
In the provincial city, the behavior of participants did not vary depending on
whether they encountered an open or closed door. In both cases, about 60% held
the door open for the next person (open-door condition: 103/172, 60% ; closed-
door condition : 135/228, 59%).
The extent of these differences does not allow us to conclude with sufficient
certainty that there is even a negligible difference between the two frequencies
(g = .68). When the door was open, there was therefore no difference between Paris
and Nantes: in both cities slightly less than two-thirds of participants held the door
open for the next person (85/142, 60% ; 103/172, 59%). On the other hand, there
was a difference between Paris and the provincial city when the door was closed. In
this case, civil behavior was clearly less marked in Paris (153/338, 45%) than in the
provincial setting (135/228, 59%). This difference was superior to 5 points (g = .98).
In other words, in Paris, the fact of finding the door closed considerably reduced
the frequency of politeness behavior, compared to all other experimental conditions.
145
Figure 3 - Interaction effects of environmental and situational conditions
Discussion
Slightly more than half of our participants exhibited behaviors of politeness and
held the door open to the person following them at the entry of a large department
store. While men held the door open for the next person more often than women,
politeness was equivalent whether the person following was a man or a woman.
Contrary to helping behaviors, which have been found to vary according to the
characteristics of the person to be helped (Moser, 2009), politeness is not dependent
on the target person. These results demonstrate clearly that holding a door open to
another person cannot be assimilated to a helping behaviour. Nevertheless, civility
is affected both by general environmental conditions – it occurs less often in Paris
than in an average provincial city – and is sensitive to situational conditions.
Politeness was more evident in the provinces than in Paris. While in the
mid-sized provincial city nearly two-thirds of people held the door open for another
person, in Paris it was only one-half who did so. There is obviously a difference in
spontaneous politeness between Paris and the provincial city, Parisians engaging
significantly less often in civil behaviors. In Paris, the fact of finding the door open
by the preceeding person strongly increased the behavior of politeness, regardless
of the immediate population density (60% / 40%) while, in the provincial city, the
behavior of participants was not influenced by this variable. So Parisians, but not
the provincial sample, were influenced by the door being held open. This can be
146
explained by behavioral contagion (Freedmann, 1975), itself attributable to the

observation of the performance of a model (Bandura, 1973). Furthermore, parti-
cipants become more likely to replicate this behavior due to its social desirability.
Such effects have been frequently found in helping behaviors (Bryan & Test, 1967).
In other words, the direct confrontation with a polite model appears to reactivate
the norm of politeness in big city dwellers. To the extent that civil behavior in the
provincial town does not depend upon observing a model, one can assert that the
behavior conforms to an implicit social norm.
In conclusion, the large city is no longer synonymous with civility, and behaviors
of respect towards others are not part of the daily repertoire any more. Yet, for
the inhabitants of the large city, the fact of being confronted with a polite model
reactivates their civility and their behaviors in this situation are similar to those
living in small provincial cities.

Bernard, Y. (1995). Les représentations Goffman, E. (1973). La mise en scène de
sociales de la civilité dans le contexte la vie quotidienne, vol. 1 : La présen-
urbain d’aujourd’hui. In M. Segaud tation de soi ; vol. 2 : Les relations en
(Ed.). Espaces de vie, espaces d’ar- public. Paris : Editions de Minuit.
chitecture. Paris : Editions du Plan Milgram, S. (1970). The experience of living
in cities : A psychological analysis.
Construction, 64.
In F.F. Korten, S.W. Cook & J.I. Lacey
Corroyer, D., & Rouanet, H. (1994). Sur (Eds.). Psychology and the problems
l’importance des effets et ses indica- of society. Washington DC : American
teurs dans l’analyse statistique des Psychological Association.
données. L’Année Psychologique, 94, Moser, G. (1992). Les stress urbains. Paris :
607-624. Armand Colin
Exercise 37
Select the appropriate ending for each sentence :
Sentences
1) Politeness is an expression…
2) Approximately half of the individuals you meet in…
3) An expression of codified and formal relations…
147
4) Civil behaviours are social conventions that…

5) In our society, helping behavior…
6) Approximately two-thirds of the individuals you meet in…
Endings
a) reflects the idea that it is a moral act to help others.
b) of one of the tacit rules of civility.
c) are created by groups to regulate social interaction via tacit rules.
d) provincial cities in France are likely to hold the door of a big department store
open for you.
e) Paris are likely to hold the door of a big department store open for you.
f) that involve deliberate interaction and automated reactions are called civil
behaviors.
Pour en savoir plus sur le comportement prosocial, reportez-vous aux ressources en

ligne suivantes :
Voir le film intitulé :
Film 2 : When do people help ? Diffusion of responsibility
38) The power of conformity (Films 3 et 4)

How do others’ opinions affect us ? How likely are people to conform in social
groups ? When in a group, we often “go with the flow” while at the same time
having some private reservations about what we are doing. Asch (1951, 1952,
1956) conducted a series of experiments to investigate how, and to what extent,
social forces constrain people’s opinions and attitudes. He felt that conformity can
“pollute” the social process and that it is important for society to foster values of
independence in its citizens. He wanted to find out just how powerful the need to
conform is in influencing our behaviour.
Asch’s experiment on group pressure

upon distortion of judgements
Method
Participants in groups of 7 to 9 young men, all college students, were assembled
in a classroom for a “psychological experiment” in visual judgement. They were
148
given the following instructions : You see two large white cards in front of you. On the
left is a single line (standard line); on the right are three lines of various lengths
(comparison lines). They are numbered 1, 2, 3 in order. You have to choose the one
that is of the same length as the standard line on the other card (see Figure 4).
The task was a simple one. The subjects announced their answers one at a time,
in the order in which they were seated. However, only the last individual in the
sequence was a real subject; the others were in league with the experimenter (males)
and responded according to a prearranged plan. For the first pairs of cards, everyone
gave the correct answer. For the second set of cards, the group was again unani-
mous. But on the third trial, the other “subjects” chose the wrong line. And they all
chose the same wrong line. Each study had 18 trials, for 12 of which the males gave
unanimous incorrect answers. They gave correct answers occasionally so that the
participant did not suspect collusion. In this situation, “two alternatives were open
to the subject : he could act independently, repudiating the majority, or he could go
along with the majority, repudiating the evidence of his senses” (Asch, 1955, p. 33).
Standard line Comparison lines
Figure 4
Results
Under ordinary circumstances (control group), when all the participants were
naive subjects, individuals made mistakes less than 1% of the time, but under
group pressure, the participants accepted the wrong judgements in 36.8% of the
cases. Only 29% of participants remained completely independent. Whether the
participants yielded or remained independent, for the most part, they were deeply
disturbed by this discrepancy between what they saw and what they believed
others saw.
Of course, individuals differed markedly in their responses : some subjects were
completely independent, and never agreed with the erroneous judgements of the
149
majority, whereas other subjects conformed almost all the time. Each participant
was interviewed at the end of the experiment. Explanations given for participants’
non-conformity included : confidence in one’s own judgment or the obligation to
stick to their answers. Conformists gave explanations such as : “I am wrong, they
are right”, “not to spoil your results”, or the idea that something was wrong with
them for seeing the answer differently, so they wished to hide it.
Factors affecting the degree of conformity

After completing the initial study, Asch conducted additional research to see
which aspect of group influence was most important – the size of the majority or
its unanimity.
In one series, the size of the opposition was varied from one to 15 persons.
When a participant was confronted with only a single individual who gave a wrong
answer, s/he answered independently in almost all of the trials. However, when the
subject faced two people giving wrong answers, s/he answered incorrectly 13.6%
of the time. With three males answering incorrectly, participants gave erroneous
answers 31.8% of the time. However, further increases in the size of the majority
did not result in a substantial increase in conformity. Asch found that the size of
the opposition only had an effect up to a certain point.
To explore the effect of unanimity, a supporting partner (who gave right answers)
was introduced in the group. This decreased the subject’s incorrect answers to
one quarter of the number observed when the majority was unanimous. Was the
partner’s effect a consequence of his dissent, or was it related to his accuracy ? To
answer this question, a confederate was instructed to disagree with both the group
and the subject. Results showed that, even in this situation, the rate of conformity
was reduced.
Does an individual’s resistance to group pressure depend on the degree to which
the majority is wrong ? Asch manipulated the discrepancy between the standard
line and comparison lines. He tried to reach a point where the error was so blatantly
obvious that the subject would be sure to choose the correct answer, despite the
majority. But he observed that even when the difference between the lines was as
much as seven inches, there were still some participants who went with the majority.
Cultural differences and conformity

Has the level of conformity changed over time since the 1950s ? An analysis of
American studies found that levels of conformity in general have steadily declined
since Asch’s studies (Bond & Smith, 1996).
150
Does the level of conformity vary from one culture to another ? Using a modi-
fied form of the Asch-type group pressure technique, Stanley Milgram (1961)
compared the conformity rates of Norwegian and French participants. He noted
that Norwegians have a strong feeling of group identity and social responsibility
and he hypothesized that social cohesiveness of this sort could go hand in hand
with a high degree of conformity. In contrast, he noticed that French society has
a tradition of dissent and a greater diversity of opinions, which could help parti-
cipants resist group pressure. In line with these predictions, Milgram observed
conformity in 62% of Norwegian subjects and 50% of French subjects.
More generally, literature shows that individuals from collectivist cultures, rather
than individualist cultures, are more likely to yield to the majority, given the higher
value placed on harmony in person-to-group relations.

Asch, S.E. (1955). Opinions and social pres- line judgment task. Psychological
sure. Scientific American, 193, 31-35. Bulletin, 119, 111-137.
Bond, R., & Smith, P.B. (1996). Culture
and conformity : a meta-analysis Milgram, S. (1961). Nationality and confor-
of studies using Asch’s (1952, 1956) mity. Scientific American, 205, 45-52.
Pour en savoir plus sur la conformité et l’expérience de Asch, reportez-vous aux

ressources en ligne. Voir les films intitulés :
Film 3 : Power of conformity. Asch’s experiment : Effects of group
pressure on distortion of judgements
Film 4 : Conformity
39) Destructive obedience to authority (Film 5)

As car drivers, we obey the signals of traffic police, school pupils respond to the
instructions given to them by their teachers, and soldiers obey the orders of their
commanding officers. Some system of authority is a requirement of all communal
living and the very life of society is predicated on its existence. If obedience may
be ennobling and educative, it might as well be destructive.
151
Stanley Milgram’s experimental studies on destructive obedience to authority

(1974) are among the most famous in all of psychology’s history. Milgram’s idea for
this research grew out of his desire to scientifically investigate how people could
be capable of carrying out great harm to others simply because they were ordered
to do so. He was referring specifically to the atrocities committed under orders
during World War II. In the limited form possible in laboratory research, the ques-
tion became : if an experimenter tells a subject to hurt another person, under what
conditions will he refuse to obey ? The idea was thus to study the reactions of the
individual placed in the centre of a conflict between his conscience and authority.
The study produced some shocking and disturbing findings.
Milgram’s baseline experiment

The experiment took place at Yale University in the 1960s. The subjects were
males between twenty and fifty years of age and covered a wide range in educational
background and occupational status. They were recruited through newspaper
advertisements seeking subjects to be paid participants ($ 4.50) in a scientific study
about learning and memory.
Each subject and another person (introduced as a second subject, but in reality
a male of the experimenter) were asked to draw slips of paper to determine each
person’s role in the experiment : either “learner” or “teacher”. In fact, the draw was
rigged so that the subject was always the teacher and the male the learner.
The experimental procedure was as follows : the learner was strapped into a
chair and electrodes attached to his wrists. Electrode paste to avoid burns was
applied by the experimenter.
The experimenter then took the teacher into another room and seated him in
front of a shock generator equipped with 30 switches graded from 15 to 450 volts.
Clearly indicated below the switches were the words “slight shock”, “moderate
shock”, “strong shock”, “very strong shock”, “intense shock”, “extreme intensity shock”,
“danger : severe shock” and finally “XXX”. The teacher had in front of him a list of
thirty adjective-noun word pairs. His task was first to read the thirty word pairs (e.g.,
blue/sky) to the learner and then present one of the words to the learner who had
to reply with the pair-word (e.g., blue… sky). The experimental situation permited
communication from one room to another.
The experimenter explained to the teacher that each time the learner made a
mistake, he must give him an electric shock (the learner gave a predetermined
set of responses to the word pair test, based on a schedule of approximately three
152
wrong answers to one correct answer). He specified that the level of the shock must
increase in intensity with the number of mistakes. The experiment was planned so
that the teacher received feedback from the learner each time he administered an
electric shock and according to its intensity : at 75 volts the learner began to grunt
and moan; at 150 volts he demanded to be let out of the experiment; at 180 volts
he cried out that he can no longer stand the pain; at 300 volts he refused to provide
any more answers. In response to this last tactic, the experimenter instructed the
naive subject to treat the absence of an answer as equivalent to a wrong answer,
and to follow the usual shock procedure. Each time the teacher hesitated, the
experimenter urged him to continue and if, after the fourth encouragement, the
subject refused to obey, the experiment was stopped.
The learner, in fact, was not connected to the generator and received no shocks
at all. His reactions – which sounded very convincing and whose authenticity was
not questioned by the naive participants – were pre-recorded so that each learner
was exposed to a standardized set of protests from the victim. Each naive subject
was given a sample shock (45 volts) prior to beginning his run as the teacher. This
further convinced the subject of the authenticity of the generator.
After the subjects finished the experiment, they received a full explanation (called
a debriefing) of the true purpose of the study. In addition, they were interviewed as
to their feelings and thoughts during the experiment, and the male “learner” was
brought in for a friendly reconciliation.
Results
A measure of obedience was obtained simply by recording the level of shock at
which each subject refused to continue. Results showed that 62.5% of the subjects
placed in this situation continued administering shocks until 450 volts. This is
not to say that the subjects were enthusiastic about what they were doing. Many
exhibited signs of extreme stress and concern for the man receiving the shocks,
and even became angry with the experimenter. Yet they obeyed.
These were average, normal people, not sadistic, cruel individuals in any way.
So why did they behave like this ? For Milgram, it is not the person but rather the
“power of the situation” that is the major lesson of the experiment.
The power of the situation

The power of the situation was demonstrated in an extensive research program
consisting of 17 situational variations on the basic paradigm. These variations
153
helped Milgram identify some of the conditions that strengthen or weaken the
obstacles to challenging authority – the binding and opposing forces that push
the level of obedience up or down.
Obedience decreased :
1) as the physical distance between the teacher and learner decreased (if the learner
was in the same room rather than in another one);
2) as the physical distance between the participant and experimenter increased (if
the experimenter was not physically present in the room but issued orders over
a phone link);
3) if other “teachers” (males) were introduced and seen to disobey the experimenter
(the first one withdrew at 150 volts and the second at 210 volts);
4) if subjects faced a divided authority (two experimenters of apparently equal status
ran the experiment jointly and, at the point at which the learner began to protest
vehemently, experimenter 1 called for a halt and experimenter 2 instructed the
teacher to continue);
5) if the experiment was re-located from Yale University to a less prestigious office.
Obedience increased if the teacher’s role was divided among two people (the
shocks were administered by a man playing the role of another participant while
the naive subject performed subsidiary tasks which contributed to the experimental
proceedings but did not require him to press the lever of the shock generator).
Milgram repeated the procedure with women subjects and he found similar results.
Some explanations of obedience

According to Milgram, the socialization of obedience is of enormous signifi-
cance. From early childhood throughout our lives, we are taught to obey authority
and are rewarded for doing so. We learn to value obedience. Obedience becomes an
unquestioned operative norm in countless institutions and settings (military, medi-
cine, education, and corporation). In addition, he considered that we have two
states of consciousness : the agentic state and the autonomous state. In the latter
state, individuals are aware of the consequences of their actions and therefore
voluntarily engage in, or disengage from, behaviour. In the agentic state, they see
themselves as subordinates in an otherwise hierarchical system and, as a result,
they don’t feel responsible for what they are doing.
154

Blass, T. (2002). The man who shocked Milgram, S. (1974). Obedience to authority.
the world. New York : Basic Books. New York : Harper & Row.
Pour en savoir plus sur la soumission à l’autorité, reportez-vous aux

ressources en ligne. Voir le film intitulé :
Film 5 : Destructive obedience to authority
40) Killing an animal in the name of science1

The destructive way authority sometimes influences people was shown sixty
years ago in groundbreaking experiments conducted by Stanley Milgram. The
famous Yale psychologist showed that a large majority of people administered
painful and potentially lethal electric shocks to an innocent human victim (who
was actually unharmed, although participants did not know this) during a fake
study on learning. While these studies were reproduced in many countries and in
various settings (including virtual reality), the reasons underlying this powerful
and frightening phenomenon remain to be fully clarified.
According to Milgram, his participants transferred their own agency and
responsibility to the experimenter and thus became “thoughtless agents of action”.
However, many scholars consider that a participant’s willingness to administer
electric shocks cannot be properly explained by blind obedience. Instead, it may
be a function of their active identification with the scientific enterprise underlying
the experiment. However, strong proofs of this hypothesis are still lacking.
A new experiment involving an animal

In order to bridge this gap, we created a completely new experimental situation

involving an animal victim. This inflicts less psychic stress on human participants,
but also addresses the genuine moral conflict created by the massive use of animals
in experimentation. While the earlier view of animals as insensitive machines has
been widely disproved by scientific studies revealing the complex mental lives of
1. A previous version of this article was published on the “Character and Context”, the blog of
the Society for Personality and Social Psychology.
155
animals, in laboratories they are still considered as scientific tools. Worldwide,

more than 115 million of them are killed every year for research purposes. This
also creates moral dilemmas and distress for laboratory staff who perform invasive
or painful experiments.
In our recent experiments, modeled on Milgram’s methods, participants were
required to incrementally administer a noxious chemical substance to a large
(20-inch) fish as part of a learning experiment, leading to the death of the animal.
The fish was in fact a biomimetic robot that swam in a tank across the room from
the participant, who thought it was real.
A short video of the setting is available here1 :
The administered substance was supposed to stimulate learning in the context

of research on Alzheimer’s disease. However, an important side effect of the drug
was its consequences on vital functions at high dosages. Participants were informed
that the toxic substance would be painful and lethal at higher doses for the animal.
In order to perform the task, participants had to click successively on twelve
buttons, which each time triggered the injection into the water of extra doses of the
toxic pharmacological substance via a motorized syringe. When they were reluc-
tant to continue, a research assistant asked them to keep on pressing the buttons.
During the task, participants were asked to observe the behavior of a fish on
a supposed learning task and were told that the twelve-dose drug administration
would influence the fish’s competence on the task. Below the buttons, the expected
probability of the death of the fish was written, as follows : 0% probability of death
(button 1); 33% (button 3); 50% (button 6); 75% (button 9); and 100% (button 12).
Moreover, the cardiac pace of the animal was shown on a screen, which also
produced auditory feedback to indicate cardiac distress.
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exNHKprKNwI
156
Figure 5 - A representation of the protocol
As in Milgram’s studies, many participants (both males and females) stuck with
the task until the end, injecting the twelve doses leading to certain death. More
precisely, while 28% of the participants refused to begin the task, about 44% finished
the experiment (injecting the 12 doses and killing the fish), with between 1% and
6% stopping at each intermediate level.
Killing an animal for science

In another experiment, we reasoned that if science represents a cultural autho-
rity, the mere suggestion of science would increase a participant’s willingness to
go along. In order to demonstrate this, we repeated the same experiment with the
fish, but this time we made our participants think either positively or negatively
about science :
• Half of the participants were assigned to a “science promotion” condition where
they wrote down three things that were important about science, what they liked
about it, and what they felt they had in common with scientists.
• The other half of the participants were assigned to a “science critical” condition
where they had to list three things they believed to be problematic about science,
what they disliked about it, and what differentiated them from scientists.
• Then they all did the learning task with the fish.
As we hypothesized, those in a pro-scientific mindset were more willing to follow
the experimenter’s instructions to keep going, thus inflicting more and more pain
on the fish. Furthermore, based on other questions we asked our participants,
157
individuals who placed more value on non-egalitarian and hierarchical relationships

among social groups, and had a stronger belief that humans are more valuable than
other species, injected more toxic doses to the fish. Non-vegetarians were more
likely to kill the animal.
The fact that just writing about good aspects of science (regardless of one’s own
prior attitudes) predicts participants’ harmful behavior toward an animal suggests
that obedience is probably not as blind as Milgram claimed – it is also influenced by
explicit motives. Science represents, today, the most influential cultural authority
in the Occidental World. In our experiment, we showed that ordinary citizens can
be induced to inflict pain on and to kill an animal not merely to obey an authority
figure, but in the name of science.

Bègue, L., & Vezirian, K. (2021). Sacrificing Social Psychology Bulletin. doi :
animals in the name of scientific 10.1177/01461672211039413
authority : The relationship between
Bègue-Shankland, L. (2022). Face aux ani-
pro-scientific mindset and the
lethal use of animals in biomedical maux. Nos émotions, nos préjugés,
experimentation. Personality and nos ambivalences. Paris : Odile Jacob.
Exercise 40
Sentences
1) Milgram’s experiment consisted of…
2) According to Milgram, the willingness to administer the electric shocks can
be potentially explained by…
3) The findings of the present studies suggest that the willingness to harm an
animal could be better explained by…
4) Participants who were more likely to kill the animal during the experiment…
Endings
a) were those who believed that humans are more valuable than other species.
b) participants’ blind obedience to a scientific authority and the fact that parti-
cipants transferred their own sense of responsibility to the experimenter.
158
c) administrating painful and potentially lethal electric shocks to a person (who

was unharmed, although participants did not know this).
d) participant’s identification with the scientific enterprise behind the experi-
ment : they were ready to harm an animal in the name of science.
41) Attitudes, attitude change and persuasion

Attitudes
The study of attitudes has been central to the field of social psychology for a
long time (Allport, 1935), and the concept has been viewed in diverse ways over
the decades. Most often, researchers adopt the following definition of attitude :
“Attitude is a psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular
entity with some degree of favor or disfavor” (Eagly & Chaiken, 1993). Psychological
tendency refers to a state that is internal to the person. It predisposes the person
toward evaluative responses that are positive or negative. Attitudes toward an
object can be based on different classes of information : affective (the emotions it
evokes), cognitive (reasoned analysis of the consequences that accrue from selec-
ting an option among those available) and behavioral information (experiences
and observation of our own relevant behavior).
Research concerning attitudes has been able to progress as a result of advances
made in the measurement of attitudes. A Likert scale consists of a series of decla-
rative statements about some attitude object, followed by a continuum of choices
ranging from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree”. A respondent’s attitude is repre-
sented by the average of his or her responses to all the declarative statements in the
scale. The semantic differential scale or SDS (Osgood, Suci and Tannenbaum, 1957)
asks respondents to evaluate an attitude object along a series of bipolar adjective
scales (good-bad, favorable-unfavorable, pleasant-unpleasant, etc). Respondents
are asked to check the scale point that best represents their evaluation of the
attitude object. The sum of averages across the items serves as the respondent’s
attitude score.
At present, there is an interest in implicit attitudes due to the development of
implicit measures. Implicit measures seek to obtain an estimate of an individual’s
attitude without directly asking him/her to consider it. Implicit measures involve
responses or processes that are automatic or difficult to control. Greenwald et al.
(1998) Implicit Association Test (IAT) has led the way and is driving theorizing
about the nature of the attitude construct.
159
Attitude change and persuasion

Persuasion and, therefore, attitude change, constitutes one of the most funda-
mental processes of social communication. By changing people’s attitudes we can
change how they think about other people, groups, objects, or issues. Persuasive
communication often involves a number of elements, such as the communicator
(e.g., source credibility), the receiver (audience), the medium (e.g., writing, video),
the type of message (e.g., long or short) and the context (e.g., distraction).
Early research concerned the “Yale Model” (Hovland, Janis & Kelley, 1953).
Communication is analyzed in terms of “who says what, via what medium, to whom,
and directed at what kind of behaviour” (Lasswell, 1948). Any one variable (e.g., an
expert source) is expected to have just one effect on persuasion, either enhan-
cing or reducing it. Are expert people more persuasive than non-expert people ?
Researchers have demonstrated that any one variable (e.g., an expert source) was
shown to be good for persuasion in some studies but detrimental in others.
Later, the cognitive response model (Greenwald, 1968) emphasized the mediating
role of the thoughts (cognitive responses) that people generate as they receive and
reflect upon persuasive communications. Thoughts mediate the effect of persuasive
messages on attitude change : favourable recipient-generated thoughts should be
persuasive, unfavourable thoughts should be unpersuasive. Variables could increase
or decrease persuasion by influencing the likelihood that people would elabo-
rate or think about the arguments presented. For example, variables like source
credibility might enhance persuasion by leading people to be more favourable in
their thoughts to the message than if the source was not mentioned or was low
on credibility.
The Elaboration Likelihood Model or ELM (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986) and the
Heuristic-Systematic Model or HSM (Chaiken, 1987) postulated that persons
subjected to persuasive messages process information, and thus change attitudes,
via one of two routes. According to ELM, when people are motivated and able to
think about an issue, they are likely to take the central route to persuasion – focu-
sing on the arguments. Yet, sometimes people are not motivated enough or able
to think carefully. Rather than noticing whether the arguments are compelling,
people might follow the peripheral route to persuasion – focusing on cues that
trigger acceptance without much thinking (e.g., expertise of the source, “experts
can be trusted”). For example, when motivation and ability to think were low,
positively valenced variables such as source expertise would be used as simple
cues (peripheral route) leading to more persuasion regardless of the quality of
argument in the message.
160
A new way to affect attitude change : self-validation

According to ELM, the way in which a person processes information may be
more important in determining persuasion than the content of the information
itself. We know from Greenwald (see above) that people generate negative or
positive thoughts (first-level thoughts) as they receive persuasive communications.
However, following a thought, people can also generate other thoughts that occur
at a second level (metacognition), involving reflections on the first-level thoughts.
Two people might have the same first-level thought in response to a persuasive
message; but one of them might have greater confidence in that thought than the
other one. This is the self-validation hypothesis : generating first-level thoughts is
not sufficient for them to have an impact. Confidence in a thought (second-level
thought, or metacognition) is important because the greater the confidence, the
greater its impact on attitude.
For example, Petty and Briñol (2008) proposed that source credibility can
influence persuasion by affecting the confidence people have in the thoughts
they generated in response to a message. When one has already thought about
information in a message, and then discovers that it came from a high – or low –
credibility source, one’s thoughts are also validated or invalidated by the source
information. Tormala et al. (2006) presented people with either a strong or a weak
quality message promoting a new pain relief product, and then revealed informa-
tion about the source (low vs. high in credibility). When the message was strong,
people generated positive thoughts. High source credibility led to more favorable
attitudes than low source credibility because of greater confidence in the positive
thoughts generated. However, when the message was weak, the credibility effect
was reversed. When the message was weak, people generated negative thoughts.
High source credibility led to less favorable attitudes than low source credibility
because of greater confidence in the negative thoughts generated.
All of these models assume that information does exert an important impact
on attitudes. Moreover, these models have a relation with the content of attitudes
(they may express different beliefs and emotions), their structure and strength
(attitudes reflect the intensity of feelings and beliefs to a greater or lesser extent),
and their function (attitudes may serve different psychological motivations, such
as the need to be correct or the need to be liked by others).
161

Bohner, G., & Wänke, M. (2002). Attitudes Petty, R.E., & Briñol, P. (2008). Psycho-
and attitude change. Psychology logical processes underlying persua-
Press. sion : A social psychological approach.
Girandola, F. (2003). Psychologie de Diogenes, 217, 52–67. [Lien en anglais :
l’engagement et de la persuasion. www.psy.ohio-state.edu/petty/docu-
PUFC. ments/2007DiogenesEnglishPettyBri-
Maio, G.R., & Haddock, G. (2009). The psy- nol.pdf] [Lien en français : www.psy.
chology of attitudes and attitude ohio-state.edu/petty/documents/
change. London : Sage. 2007Diogenes.pdf]
Exercise 41
Questions
1) List two types of attitude measurement.
2) If someone is persuaded by an attractive speaker with a poor argument, which
“route to persuasion” did s/he take ?
3) Which term in the text could be defined as “thoughts about thoughts” ?
4) Which three types of information can serve as the basis for attitudes ?
5) What term refers to attitudes of which a person is unaware ?
42) Prejudices, stereotypes and discrimination

(Film 6)
Discrimination means treating a target1 individual favourably or unfavourably
because s/he is a member of the source’s2 own group (the ingroup) or of a different
one (the outgroup), for example in terms of his/her ethnic origins, skin colour, age,
religion, language, sexual orientation, weight, etc. Discrimination takes various
specific forms, each of them related to a different prejudice (e.g., racism, ageism,
sexism, homophobia or weightism). Discrimination is always related to two other
phenomena, prejudice and stereotypes.
1. Someone towards whom discrimination is practised.

2. Someone who practises discrimination.
162
A group’s stereotypes can relate to the ingroup (endostereotypes) or to an

outgroup (exostereotypes). Prejudice is a negative or a positive attitude towards a
target, expressed in the form of unreasoned rejection or approval, for instance “I
don’t like trade unionists” or “I love Italian girls”. Prejudices are linked to stereo-
types, such as “gay men are effeminate”, “black people are good athletes”, “women
are intuitive”, which indicate the direction (positive or negative) of the prejudice.
Studies such as the one conducted by Mackie & Smith (1998) show that a preju-
dice is different from a stereotype because it calls on the affective dimension of an
attitude, whereas a stereotype is linked to knowledge and beliefs – the cognitive
dimension. Discrimination is the result of prejudice and stereotypes, and concerns
people’s actions (the behavioural dimension).
Discrimination can be positive or negative, direct or indirect. Direct positive
discrimination could involve giving a particular group special favours, or credi-
ting it with responsibility for positive situations; indirect positive discrimination
would mean defending a group by trying to protect it from ending up in negative
situations, or denying its responsibility for them.
Studies show (e.g., Yzerbyt & Schadron, 1996 ; Bourhis & Leyens, 2001 ; Salès-
Wuillemin, 2006) that positive forms of discrimination generally take place in
favour of members of the ingroup, and negative forms towards members of
outgroups; although in certain cases the reverse phenomenon, favouritism towards
the outgroup, appears when a target group is treated better than the source group
(Clark & Clark, 1947). This can happen when a minority group demonstrates parti-
cularly strong enculturation (Wright & Taylor, 1995), internalising and reproducing
dominant social norms – which might help its members to limit conflict and main-
tain social equilibrium (Jost & Banaji, 1994).
Discrimination is present in many forms in businesses. Sometimes a particular
task is associated with a specific ethnic group (usually less qualified and lower in
social status, leading to the group being restricted to that task). The “glass ceiling”
effect can make it impossible for members of certain groups to rise to the top jobs
in a business.
A “glass partition” effect can also be observed in relation to key positions which
lead to those top jobs. Then there is the “swing door” effect, which involves piling
up problems for a colleague, so that in the end the target gives up trying to succeed,
and thus confirms the negative stereotype.
Two social processes feed all these phenomena, social reproduction and coopta-
tion. Social reproduction means that when a manager wants to recruit or promote
someone, s/he gives preferential treatment to individuals with a similar educational,
163
social or cultural background to him/herself. It gives the manager the false impres-
sion that s/he can predict how the other person will behave. Cooptation is similar,
and involves preferentially recruiting or promoting people who are part of the
“network” and thus “vouched for” by other close colleagues. It gives the manager
the false impression that s/he will be able to control how the other person behaves.
There is a difference between explicit and implicit attitudes. For more than
thirty years now, polls and studies have shown that prejudice and stereotypes are
on the decline. Everything seems to show that the fight against racism is being
won – which would be good news, were it not that the reality is quite different.
Studies in social psychology show that there is a latent phenomenon hidden
behind the figures. It has been shown that reduced discrimination is mainly limited
to studies which use explicit measures – for instance, people are asked to say whether
they discriminate, or whether they think certain positive or negative traits are charac-
teristic of a particular group. Participants can control their answers, because they
can see what the study is all about, and so they conform to the anti-discrimination
norm. But when they are unable to control their responses, or if the measurement is
based on unexpected indicators, discrimination reappears. This shows that there are
two types of attitudes : explicit attitudes which are accessible and measurable using
traditional scales, and implicit attitudes which are less accessible and require more
specific types of measurement. Among the most interesting of such measures are
subliminal priming, measuring reaction times, and some kinds of language analysis
(Devine, 1989; Maass, Castelli, & Arcuri, 2000; Dovidio, Kawakami, & Beach 2001;
Gaertner & Dovidio 2005; Masse, Salès-Wuillemin, Bromberg & Frigout, 2008).
Various psychosocial theories have been advanced to explain the processes at
work. One group of theories focuses on individuals and how they analyse informa-
tion, while another is more based on relationships between groups.
At the individual level, there are three factors underlying prejudice, stereotypes
and discrimination :
1) Stereotypes enable people to reduce the amount of information they have to
process, which limits the “cognitive load”, facilitates understanding (see Hoffman
& Hurst’s, 1990, “naive scientist” model, or Fiske & Taylor’s “cognitive miser”,
1984), and decides what information coming from the environment is the most
relevant (Fiske & Taylor’s “motivated tactician” model, 1987).
2) Because they are social, and, thus, the sign of a certain consensus, they allow
people to make judgements which have more chance of being socially accepted
(Schadron & Yzerbyt’s “social judgeability” model, 1991).
3) They are part of each individual’s culture and are triggered automatically –
although people who have been brought up to question stereotypes and prejudice
164
may have some ability to control this process, if they have enough cognitive
resources available to them (“automatic activation”, see Devine, 1989 ; and
Dovidio, Kawakami & Beach, 2001).
At the collective level, two main factors come into play. Relationships between
groups can become conflictual : (a) when resources are limited and groups have
to compete for them, or (b) when, even if resources are not limited, groups are in
a situation of comparative evaluation. In both cases, people have survival mecha-
nisms which lead them to privilege members of their own group to the detriment
of other individuals (“real conflict”, Sherif, 1966 ; “social comparison”, Festinger,
1954). These inter-group relations affect individual functioning for two reasons :
• First, when individuals suffer discrimination and they see the situation as unjust
(Stouffer et al., 1949) they tend to seek a better place in society. That can lead
them to aim for individual or collective social mobility, and to take action aimed
at improving their group’s position in society, such as strikes and demonstrations.
• Second, individual members of dominant groups have their self-esteem enhanced
by belonging to that group, if they are strongly attached to it. If they think this
is legitimate, they will replicate the system, helping to maintain their group’s
privileges. On the other hand, if they find the situation unjust, they may try
to change the system through individual or collective action (Social Identity
Theory, Tajfel & Turner 1986).
Is it possible to fight prejudice, stereotypes and discrimination ? Any attempt to
do so has to take into account the attitude concerned (i.e., is it explicit or implicit ?)
and the level at which action is to be carried out (individual or collective).
First, let’s examine the fight against explicit discrimination. At the individual
level, explicit attitudes can be modified by giving clear information about diffe-
rent forms of discrimination – these messages can be relayed by the media, or
for younger targets via educational programmes in school (Dovidio & Gaertner,
1999). There are also more subtle techniques based on creating cognitive conflict,
for example, by presenting people with information that contradicts a stereo-
type. However, such information is more effective if it relates to a large number
of members of the stereotyped group; if it only applies to one, targets are likely
to see the case as an exception – which allows them to accept the information
without changing their stereotype. At the collective level, bringing groups into
contact might help. This will be more effective if the groups are put in a position
of interdependence rather than competition, with a common goal – for example,
getting members of various communities to work together on a common project.
If the objective is also compatible with (or even indispensable for) people’s indi-
vidual goals (if they can put it on their CVs, for instance) the effect of contact will
be maximised.
165
As for the fight against hidden forms of prejudice, less direct techniques are
required, based on asking individuals to carry out an analysis or cognitive treat-
ment of the situation. This should lead them to reconfigure their mental universe
and see things differently, from a different point of view. This, too, can be done by
using cognitive conflict with individuals and inter-group contact at the collective
level (Dovidio & Gaertner, 1999).
For individuals, cognitive conflict arises from exposing the inconsistency
between certain actions or emotions and their prejudices. This can be done using
roleplay, where someone is confronted with a member of the group s/he is preju-
diced against. The role play can be filmed, and analysing the film afterwards can
reveal a gap between people’s intentions and their actions. Resulting guilt feelings
can motivate people to become more attentive, and subsequently control their
prejudiced reactions (Devine & Monteith, 1993).
At the collective level, the process has to involve the group. Groups can be
brought together and participants invited to conceive of themselves as individuals
(decategorization) then, at a second time, to reorganise their social perception of
constitutive groups and relations (recategorization).
Decategorization means reducing the feeling that there are fundamental diffe-
rences between the groups, and this can be done by differentiation (showing
the wide variation between members of the same group) and personalisation
(showing that members of the group are individuals, not interchangeable units).
Decategorization can be accomplished by getting people from the two groups to
work on achieving a goal in pairs or small groups with different people.
Recategorization involves showing that each person can be seen as a member of
one category according to one criterion (e.g., a community), in addition to other
categories according to other criteria (age, sex, etc.), and that ultimately everyone
belongs to a single category, that of human beings. The main thing is to keep
moving between these different levels of belonging, analysing each change of level
to show the perceptual consequences of assigning someone to this or that group.
Fighting racism is not just a matter of laws. It involves taking into account the
psychological and social processes at work, so as to understand them better and
find appropriate measures to tackle them. Unless we do that, we will always be
confronted with superficial conformism, since in the end “the water is always the
same shape as the vase” (Japanese proverb).
166

Bourhis, R.-Y., Leyens, J.-P. (éds.) (1999). Salès-Wuillemin, E., Masse, L.,
Stéréotypes, discrimination et rela- Urdapilleta, I., Pullin, W., Kohler, C.,
tions intergroupes. Liège : Mardaga, Guéraud, S. (2014). Linguistic inter-
2e éd. 2001. group bias at school : an exploratory
Salès-Wuillemin, E. (2006). La catégorisa- study of black and white children in
tion et les stéréotypes en psychologie France and their implicit attitude
sociale. Paris : Dunod. towards another, International
Scharnitzky, P. (2006). Les pièges de la Journal of Intercultural Relations,
discrimination. Paris : L’Archipel. 42, 93-103.
Exercise 42
Match the terms with the appropriate statement.
List of terms
(a) “glass partition” - (b) prejudice - (c) social reproduction - (d) stereotypes - (e)
direct positive discrimination - (f) affective - (g) discrimination - (h) behavioural
- (i) direct negative discrimination - (j) cooptation - (k) favouritism towards the
outgroup - (l) cognitive - (m) “glass ceiling” - (n) “swing door” effect.
Statements
1) Treating an individual favourably or unfavourably because s/he is a member
of a specified group.
2) A negative or positive attitude towards a target, expressed in the form of
unreasoned rejection or approval, for instance “I hate children” or “I love black
women”.
3) Statements such as “gay men are effeminate”, “black people are good athletes”,
“women are intuitive” indicating the direction (positive or negative) of the

prejudice.
4) This dimension of an attitude is expressed by prejudice.
5) This dimension of an attitude is expressed by stereotypes.
6) This dimension is an action demonstrating prejudice.
7) Giving a particular group special favours, or crediting it with responsibility
for positive situations.
8) Generally takes place towards members of outgroups.
9) Appears when an outgroup is treated better than an ingroup.
167
10) An effect that can make it impossible for members of certain groups to rise
to the top jobs in a business.
11) An effect that can be observed in relation to blocking key positions which lead
to those top jobs.
12) Piling up problems for a colleague, so that in the end the colleague gives up
trying to succeed, and thus confirms the negative stereotype.
13) Means that when a manager wants to recruit or promote someone, s/he gives
preferential treatment to individuals with a similar educational, social or
cultural background to him/herself. It gives the manager the false impression
that s/he can predict how the other person will behave.
14) Involves preferentially recruiting or promoting people who are part of the
“network” and thus “vouched for” by other close colleagues. It gives the
manager the false impression that s/he will be able to control how the other
person behaves.
Pour en savoir plus sur la catégorisation sociale, reportez-vous aux

ressources en ligne.
Film 6 : The effects of social categorization
43) Psychology of women : from the margins

to the mainstream (Films 7 et 8)
Naming the body of knowledge
The terms “psychology of women”, “feminist psychology”, or the “psychology of
women and gender” have all been used to refer to the body of knowledge about
women and gender produced since the late 1960s (Marecek, 2001). Individuals who
have contributed to this field do not share a single ideological perspective; not all
are women; and not all would label themselves “feminists”.
Woman as “other” : critique of sex differences

In the 1960s, it was difficult for women to get accepted into graduate programs
in psychology (Pullin & Stark, 1996). Consequently, feminist scholars provided
research that challenged the claims that women were deficient in cognitive abilities
and other qualities associated with success in work and public life (Matlin, 2007).
168
Women were expected to become homemakers and support the careers of their
husbands. Eventually, women overcame these ideological and structural barriers,
supported by the feminist movement and resultant changes in societal attitudes.
As the percentage of women in academic psychology increased, research articles
and books that demonstrated that women and men are capable of the same work/
social roles increased (Pullin & Stark, 1996).
In 1979, Unger (1979) noted that researchers studying perceptions, behavior,
and personality characteristics were using the term “sex differences”, a term that
implies relatively permanent biological differences. She noted that the term “gender
differences” would be a more appropriate label for characteristics that are socially
constructed.
Social construction refers to the fact that we are all shaped, or socially condi-
tioned, to behave in ways that are appropriate for our sex (gender), in a given culture
and context, at a particular point in history (and this is in continual evolution).
Another critique of sex/gender research is that the whole approach is paradoxical
(Tavris, 1991). Researchers continue to refer to male attributes as the “norm”.
This highlights the unconsciously adopted cultural assumption of male/mascu-
line characteristics as normal, and female/feminine characteristics as different.
Paradoxically, the whole focus on gender differences falsely reinforces caricatures
of both male and female characteristics.
Woman as caregiver : critique of the essentialist position

In the 1980s, many feminist authors focused on the concept that women possess
a distinctive ethic of care, with a greater capacity for nurturing through empa-
thic relationships. This ideology resonated with the political climate of the 1980s.
American and European culture supported a psychology of feminine morality; with
women as virtuous mothers – good, caring, and essentially feminine.
In fact, neither the approach of exaggerating sex differences using male charac-
teristics as the norm, nor the approach of defining women as essentially good
caregivers served society well. In more recent work of feminist scholars, the whole
process of searching for differences has been questioned because of the artificial
opposition of the two genders and the reinforcement of sexist cultural bias.
An example of the potential difficulty associated with this “woman as other/
woman as problem” was identified by Tavris (1991). She noted that many modern
authors refer to the “feminization of poverty” (implying the problem of poverty is
attached to being a woman) whereas very few authors refer to “the masculinization
169
of wealth” (failing to imply there is a problem of wealth attached to being a man).

That is not to say that either is true. However, the “poor female as problem” theme
is visible and widely voiced; “the rich male as problem” is not. The issue remains
that whichever side is considered the norm, the other side will be perceived as
deviating from it, and deviation is quickly enshrined as “opposition” (Tavris, 1991).
The post-modern woman : a social construction

In recent feminist literature, a post-modern perspective has been evident. In this
perspective, socially constructed gender identities are continuously changing in
a constantly-evolving culture. In addition, gender-related qualities and behaviors
are continuously re-interpreted in the mind’s eye of the observer, as the observer
adapts and changes perspective. Innovative methodologies like pluralistic qualita-
tive research (i.e., using multiple qualitative approaches simultaneously) are used
to promote the simultaneous consideration of multiple characteristics within a
situational and cultural context. This prevents researchers from emphasizing arti-
ficial caricatures of gender characteristics divorced from their context.
Voicing critical ideas : breaking through mainstream barriers

In the 1970’s, many gatekeepers of academic psychology were not open to
women who questioned or criticized sex bias in the discipline. In 1970, a number
of academics (who all happened to be women) discovered that their conference
submissions to the national conference of the Canadian Psychological Association
(CPA) had been rejected (Pyke, 2001). The reason for the rejection was cited as :
“the submissions did not fit into the established framework for the convention”. In
response, the scholars created a joint symposium of their papers, titled “On Women,
By Women”. When this submission was, in turn, rejected by the gatekeepers, they
booked a meeting room in the convention hotel to present their work at the same
time as the conference. Their booking was cancelled due to pressure from the
conference organizers. Refusing to be silenced, the scholars moved their meeting
to an adjacent hotel. Convention delegates came in large numbers to hear their
presentations on : sex stereotypes in children’s literature; fear of success; and sex
bias in social psychology journals. Today, it is hard to believe that scholars would
be silenced from voicing their ideas on these topics. These topics have moved from
the margins (an alternative symposium) to inclusion in the mainstream (traditional
conferences, textbooks, and journals).
The whole history of the psychology of women and gender is one that has
involved research and writing “in the margins” (Austin, Rutherford, & Pyke, 2006).
170
Feminist scholars dared to challenge the existing sexist assumptions of mainstream

psychology. Feminist journals welcomed alternative theories while encouraging
the adoption of critical standpoints and alternative methods such as qualitative or
narrative approaches. Despite feminist scholars’ best efforts, however, the psycho-
logy of women and gender is still relatively invisible in many mainstream journals
and course textbooks. Fortunately, for the motivated reader, a treasure trove of
challenging reading and reflective critical thinking awaits you, if you actively search
for interesting feminist literature in psychology (cf. Matlin, 2007; Lorber, 2009).

Lorber, J. (2009). Gender Inequality : Pyke, S. (2001). Feminist psychology
Feminist Theories. Oxford University in Canada : Early days. Canadian
Press, 4th edition. Psychology/Psychologie canadienne
Matlin, M. (2007). La psychologie des (Special issue : Looking forward,
femmes. Bruxelles : De Boeck. looking back : Women in psychology),
(Translation and cultural adaptation 42 (4), 268-275.
by W. Pullin & C. Blatier.)
Pour en savoir plus sur des expériences mettant en évidence le rôle du langage dans
la perception des différences hommes-femmes, reportez-vous aux ressources en ligne.
Film 7 : Sexist language and cognition
Pour le texte de Wendy Pullin, voir le cours filmé intitulé :

Film 8 : Psychology of women : From the margins to the
mainstream
44) Regret : Its role in our lives

(Audio 44) (Film 9)
Conceptual aspects
Imagine this happening to you : during the sales, you visit a store and buy a nice
suit that is selling for 40% less than the original price. At home, a friend of yours
sees the suit and tells you he likes it; he wants to buy the same one, so you take
171
him to the store the following day. There you find out that the suit is now being
sold for 60% less. What would your reaction be ?
Now imagine the following situation : after a party where you have a few drinks,
you decide to drive home. On the way, you fail to stop at a stop sign. You do not
see that another car is coming across the intersection at right angles to you. The
other driver makes a sudden move to avoid crashing with you, but cannot avoid
crashing into an electricity pole. He is in shock, and has to be taken to an emergency
room where he is kept under observation for 24 hours. You later learn that the
other driver is not seriously hurt, but he did miss a job interview appointment that
was scheduled for the day he was at the hospital. What would your reaction be ?
Definition
According to theorists, you will more than likely feel regret in both cases. There
are as many definitions of regret as disciplines treating it (Gilovitch & Medvec, 1995 ;
Zeelenberg & Pieters, 2007). We will content ourselves with Landman’s (1993)
definition, which seems broad enough to cover most of the aspects of this pheno-
menon : “Regret is a more or less painful cognitive and emotional state of feeling
sorry for misfortunes, limitations, losses, transgressions, shortcomings, or mistakes.
It is an experience of felt-reason or reasoned-emotion. The regretted matters may be
sins of commission as well as sins of omission; they may range from the voluntary to
the uncontrollable and accidental; they may be deeds actually executed, or entirely
mental ones, committed by oneself or by another person or group; they may be moral
or legal transgressions or morally and legally neutral.” (p. 36)
This definition emphasizes four dimensions of regret. One, it is a painful
emotional experience, which renders regret an aversive emotion. Two, it has a
cognitive aspect, in the sense that we need to think practically and in-depth about
the context of the decision we regret. Three, we are likely to feel regret when we
believe that we made the wrong decision, when we feel responsible for causing harm
to ourselves or others, and blame ourselves for it, and when we feel like undoing
or correcting what happened. Four, regret may be intrapersonal, focusing on the
harm we cause to ourselves, or interpersonal, based on the harm our behavior
causes others. The fictitious situations described above illustrate both types of
regret respectively.
Regret shares some similarities with several other aversive emotions, and is some-
times confused with them. They include guilt, shame, disappointment, remorse,
embarrassment, and so on. However, the emotions that have most commonly
been investigated in parallel with regret are guilt and disappointment. Below, we
describe the relation between regret and these emotions.
172
Differences between regret and related emotions

Regret and guilt
Guilt is defined as “an unpleasant emotional state that involves a feeling of
self-reproach, repentance, and remorse resulting from realizing that one has caused
harm, loss, or distress to another, or violated some moral standards” (Leith &
Baumeister, 1998). Guilt and regret seem to be interchangeable emotions because
they both originate from the same factors; both are painful emotions that moti-
vate avoidance behaviors. Indeed, people experiencing guilt or regret are likely
to apologize, try to compensate the victim, and make a promise of good conduct
in the future (Baumeister et al., 1994; Manstead, 1991). However, while guilt and
regret are indiscriminately reported in situations of interpersonal harm, only
features specific to regret are reported in intrapersonal harm situations (Zeelenberg
& Breugelmans, 2008). In other words, regret is a broader emotion than guilt.
Moreover, while regret more likely results from a non-normative act being carried
out, guilt can also arise from non-normative intentions (e.g., the desire to sleep
with one’s brother’s girlfriend).
Regret and disappointment

Like regret, disappointment is also associated with decision-related loss, but they
are different emotions. Specifically, “disappointment is caused by comparing an
outcome with prior expectation” (Bell, 1985, p. 2), especially when the outcome
hoped for seemed highly likely. It is displeasure about the non-occurrence of a
desired outcome (van Dijk, Zeelenberg, & van Der Pligt, 1999). Disappointment
is relatively free of self-blame because the outcome of the situation is appraised
as beyond one’s control; and the individual feels powerless to face its outcome.
More importantly, while the initial cause of regret or disappointment may be the
individual’s behavior, it is not necessarily so. For example, if your parents give you
a pair of Keni tennis shoes for your birthday, while you expected a pair of the Nikes
which most young people like, you’ll be disappointed.
Pour la suite de cet article concernant les théories actuelles sur le regret, reportez-vous
aux ressources en ligne. Voir le texte électronique 44 et la version
audio 44 intitulés :
Regret : its role in our lives
173
Conclusion
People are likely to experience regret when they realize or imagine that their
current situations would have been better if they had made a different decision,
when they cause harm to themselves or others. Because regret is a negative emotion,
people seek to avoid it through various means. As a result, they may make decisions
that seem irrational with regard to available information, or make more prudent
decisions, or refrain from acting. Moreover, individuals feeling regret for their
wrongdoing may amend their actions, and act more normatively. Considering the
effects of regret on our decisions, a question that may be asked is : how negative
is regret ?

Gilovitch, T. & Medvec, V.H. (1995). The expe- Zeelenberg, M. & Pieters, R. (2007).
riences of regret : what, when and why. A theory of regret regulation 1.0.
Psychological Review, 102, 379-395. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 17,
Landman, J. (1993). Regret : The Persistence 3-18.
of the Possible. Oxford University Press.
Pour des exemples mettant en jeu des situations de regret anticipé ou réel, repor-
tez-vous aux ressources en ligne. Voir le film intitulé :
Film 9 : Examples of decisions influenced by regret, whether
experienced or anticipated
45) Free will compliance

and binding communication (Film 10)
Is it possible to influence someone to the point of making him/her freely modify
his/her ideas and behaviors ? The answer is “yes”.
Free will compliance and foot-in-the-door effect

From a practical point of view, the paradigm of free will compliance (Joule &
Beauvois, 1998) can be defined as the study of the techniques likely to lead an
individual to freely modify his behaviors.
174
The effectiveness of several techniques is now well established (Joule & Beauvois,
2002), particularly that of the foot-in-the-door (FITD). The principle of the FITD
technique is based on asking for a little (preliminary act) before asking for a great
deal (expected behavior). In one of their experiments, Freedman and Fraser (1966),
using the pretext of a telephone survey, first asked young women to answer some
innocuous questions about their consumer habits (preliminary act). Three days
later, the same young women were again solicited by phone. This time they were
asked to receive a team of several pollsters at home for about two hours for a
survey on household consumption (expected behavior). The probability that this
particularly costly request would be accepted was significantly higher with this
technique (53%) than in the control condition in which the young women had
not been solicited beforehand to participate in the telephone survey (22%). In
another experiment, the expected behavior was for participants to display a large
sign in their gardens encouraging people to “Drive Carefully”. The highest rate
of compliance came from participants who had been asked two weeks earlier
to display a small sign encouraging driver safety (preliminary act), compared to
participants who were directly requested to display the large sign (76% and 17%
respectively). Compliance with the expected behavior dropped off when the initial
request was either to engage in a different behavior (sign a petition) or support a
different cause (“Keeping California beautiful”).
Studies carried out on the FITD technique show the interest of gaining
compliance to preliminary acts; carrying out such acts increases the probability
that the persons who did them will accept other requests of a similar nature, even
if these requests are more costly and therefore more difficult to satisfy.
Commitment theory
Based on the theory of commitment (Kiesler, 1971), the effects of the preli-
minary acts will be modulated by the context in which they are performed. This
context can involve more or less commitment, or even no commitment at all. For
instance, Tybout (1978) asked participants to simply sign a petition or, at a deeper
level of commitment, they signed the petition and were asked to explain their
personal reasons for signing to the experimenter. Compliance with the expected
behavior was higher when the preliminary act was at a high level of commitment.
According to Kiesler (1971), “commitment is the pledging or binding of an indivi-
dual to behavioural acts”. According to Joule and Beauvois (1998), the objective
characteristics of a situation may or may not commit an individual in his/her acts,
and hence help establish a relationship between an individual and his/her acts. Joule
and Beauvois offer a definition that takes account of the effect of a situation on
175
commitment : “commitment corresponds, in a given situation, to the conditions in

which the completion of an act can only be charged to the individual who completed
the act”. The commitment variable can be handled using factors in two categories :
1) Act visibility and importance : this category includes five factors :
a) public nature of the act : an act carried out in public commits more than an
anonymous act;
b) act irrevocability : an irrevocable act that cannot be canceled commits more
than a revocable act;
c) act repetition : a repeated act commits more than an act carried out once.
Act repetition is a commitment factor likely to increase resistance to change.
According to Kiesler, the commitment adds up with the acts;
d) act consequences : the more serious the consequences, the higher the
commitment;
e) act cost : an act commits what it costs. Lending a car costs more than lending
a pen.
2) Reasons for the act and freedom context
The reasons behind what one does or is about to do can be external (for example :
circumstances of the situation) or internal (an individual’s personal will). External
reasons decrease commitment, they loosen the relationship between an individual
and his/her acts. For instance, the stronger the reward and the punishment, the
more behavior is justified. Internal reasons tighten the relationship between an
individual and his acts. Finally, the context in which the individual lives should
give him or her a “free” subject status. Commitment theoreticians regard freedom
of choice as the main commitment factor.
For example, Joule and Beauvois (1998) tested the commitment efficiency by
asking job-seekers to attend training sessions and encouraging them to look for a
job. In one control group, the trainers acted as usual : they informed the partici-
pants of the mandatory character of the sessions, indicating that any unjustified
absence would result in salary deductions. In the experimental group, the rules
were different : the trainers emphasized that the participants were free to attend
the training sessions or not. The results of this simple commitment manipulation
show first that the absenteeism rate is no higher in the experimental group than
in the control group (15%). Secondly, the experimental group has more positive
views on the training. Finally, the placement rate is significantly higher in the expe-
rimental group (56% participants found jobs) than in the control group (25%). In
the long run, three month later, the placement rate was 69% in the experimental
group and 35% in the control group.
176
Binding communication
Preliminary acts could have another interest : making the individuals who
performed them more or less susceptible to information they may receive later.
Binding communication (Joule, Girandola and Bernard, 2007) confronts someone
with a persuasive message in order to measure the effects, but this confronta-
tion is made after the individual has complied with the request and carried out a
preliminary act going in the same direction as the information contained in the
message, such as signing a petition to outlaw smoking in public areas before reading
a message about passive smoking. There are still questions to be dealt with in the
paradigm of binding communication, as there are in the framework of persuasive
communication : “What is the best information to convey to the target ?”, “Which
arguments will the target-individual be sensitive to ?”, “What are the most appro-
priate channels, tools, media etc ?”, and another essential one can be added : “What
are the preliminary acts to be obtained beforehand ?” The binding communication
approach is distinguished from that of persuasive communication because it takes
into account this last question, thus, giving the target the status of an actor rather
than a mere receiver.
Deschamps, Joule and Gumy (2005), for example, used binding communication
to get Swiss citizens to vote in elections. They were divided into three groups.
All three groups were exposed to a speech condemning electoral abstention. In
addition to this, participants in two of the three groups were asked to carry out a
preliminary act : filling in a questionnaire on their opinions and voting practices,
or drawing up an argument against abstention. A significantly higher number of
students in the two groups that carried out preliminary activities actually partici-
pated in the vote (questionnaire : 77%; argument : 79%) compared with the group
that had simply been subjected to the anti-abstention speech (50%). Binding
communication attempts to show that by resorting to a preliminary act before
diffusing a persuasive message, it is possible to obtain behavioral changes that
would not be obtained without resorting to such acts. It is not just about presenting
targets with information and arguments. Efforts are put into encouraging targets
to carry out preliminary actions and to make specific commitments.
Binding communication supports the development of studies seeking to inte-
grate both research on the role of commitment and free will compliance, and
research dealing with communication in general and with a focus on persuasive
communication in particular.
177

Deschamps, J.-C., Joule, R.-V., & Gumy, willingly change their behavior ? The
C. (2005). La communication enga- path from persuasive communication
geante au service de la réduction to binding communication. Social and
de l’abstentionnisme électoral : une Personality Psychology Compass, 1,
application au milieu universitaire. 493-505.
Revue Européenne de Psychologie Joule, R.-V., & Beauvois, J.-L. (1998). La sou-
Appliquée, 55, 21-27. mission librement consentie. Paris :
Girandola, F. (2003). Psychologie de la per- PUF.
suasion et de l’engagement. Paris : PUF. Joule, R.-V., & Beauvois, J.-L. (2002). Petit
Joule, R.-V., Girandola, F., & Bernard, F. traité de manipulation à l’usage des
(2007). How can people be induced to honnêtes gens. Grenoble : PUG.
Pour en savoir plus sur la technique d’engagement du pied-dans-la-porte, reportez-vous

aux ressources en ligne. Voir le film intitulé :
Film 10 : Free will compliance and foot-in-the-door effect
D’autres thèmes de la psychologie sociale à découvrir dans les ressources
en ligne :
Pour en savoir plus sur la relation entre alcoolisme et agression, voir le texte élec-
tronique 46 intitulé :
Alcohol and aggression : three main perspectives
Pour en savoir plus sur « la psychologie environnementale », voir le texte électro-
nique 47 intitulé :
Environmental psychology : scope and utility of a contextualised psychology
Pour en savoir plus sur « le pardon » dans le contexte des relations intergroupes, voir
le texte électronique 48 et la version audio 48 intitulés :
Seeking forgiveness in an intergroup context
Pour en savoir plus sur les apports de « la psycho-socio-linguistique »,
voir le texte électronique 49 intitulé :
Talking about something or talking to someone ?
178
Chapitre 5
Psychologie cognitive/
Cognitive psychology
Sommaire
50) Beneficial effects of mindfulness on cognitive
and affective functions (Exercise 50).............................................. 181
51) Retrieving information from memory (Film 11) ........................... 186

52) Can olfactory experiences be shared by individuals ? Variability and
stability of olfactory perception (Audio 52 et Exercise 52)
53) Do categories for odors exist ? The contribution of categorization to
the study of odor perception (Audio 53)
Films à retrouver dans les ressources en ligne :

Film 12 : Stroop effect
Film 13 : Gestalt theory : laws of perceptual organization
Film 14 : Learn how “chunking” improves recall
Film 15 : Differences between structural, phonemic and semantic encoding :
a depth processing effect
Psychologie cognitive/Cognitive psychology ■ Chapitre 5
Cognitive psychologists study internal mental processes, including : memory,

perception, language processes, thought processes, and problem-solving. A major
goal of this area of psychology is to better understand and explain how people
acquire information and process it, in order to store it in memory and recall it when
needed. Some applied areas of cognitive psychology include : improving educa-
tional programs to enhance learning; developing better models for problem-solving;
developing better techniques to store and retrieve information in memory ; and
designing virtual realities and video simulations that mimic human thought
processes. This area of psychology has close ties to neuropsychology, psycholinguis-
tics, computer processing, and human factors engineering. A number of interesting
topics in cognitive psychology will be covered in this section.
50) Beneficial effects of mindfulness on cognitive

and affective functions
If you start reading this chapter with a low level of attention, you will surely find
yourself dropping out regularly. Your mind, sensations or emotions will sometimes
take you into the past or the future, sometimes into thoughts or remarks, most of
which would be minor or unrelated to this reading. While you had made it your
goal to finish this chapter, these digressions would furthermore slow you down and
potentially be annoying. You would repeatedly return to reading, trying to fight this
state of reduced attention. This phenomenon has been experienced at least once
by most individuals, if not all. Likewise, this mind-wandering may be experienced
daily during a class, a discussion, study sessions or even during a movie! In sum,
there is a real challenge involved in being fully present in what we do. How can we
train this awareness of the present moment and avoid being distracted, in order to
be better able to work and learn better ?
Although this is not its primary goal, mindfulness meditation offers the possi-
bility of promoting cognitive and emotional abilities that help improve learning.
Mindfulness practices propose observing our thoughts, emotions and physical
sensations in the present moment with open-mindedness and curiosity, without
judgment (Kabat-Zinn, 2003).
Mindfulness practices can be either “formal”, which means the person takes time
dedicated to this mental training, or “informal”, which means the person chooses
to integrate this exercise into a routine/habitual activity. Mindfulness practices
181
consist of intentionally choosing to focus our attention on a particular object such

as the sensations caused by breathing, or a part of your body, or sounds, thoughts
or emotions. Once the attention is focused, the practice consists in maintaining
this awareness, without being absorbed by thoughts and emotions which can lead
attention away from the task. The goal is to become aware of this back-and-forth
movement of attention between the object and distractions, bringing our attention
back to the task with kindness and warmth. The time dedicated to meditation is
variable, ranging from 3 minutes to 1 hour, but should preferably remain regular.
Mindfulness practices are present in a number of contemplative traditions such
as Buddhism. Recently, these practices have been secularized and incorporated
into psychotherapeutic programs aimed at helping patients manage pain and stress
(Kabat-Zinn, 1982). Since the first clinical adaptation of these practices, a signifi-
cant amount of research has been done to assess the beneficial effects on mental
and physical health, and to understand the mechanisms of mindfulness. Its appli-
cation has been tested in psychotherapy, in workplaces and in learning contexts,
particularly in schools. In this article, we present the effects of mindfulness on
cognitive and emotional functions which are essential for learning.
Effects on attention and executive functions

Attention : At the beginning of the chapter, we underlined the importance of
attention for various activities, focusing on those related to learning and academic
success. In the definitions that are given for mindfulness, attention regulation is
central. It is commonly defined as a receptive attention to present experiences,
called open-monitoring, or the intention to direct and focus attention on present
moment experiences, called attention-focused meditation (Bishop et al., 2004;
Brown & Ryan, 2003; Lutz, Slagter, Dunne, & Davidson, 2008).
The “body-scan”, a standard activity that consists of slowly moving one’s atten-
tion to different parts of the body, can train attention to become more focused
and also more flexible over time. Recent meta-analyses showed that mindfulness
has beneficial effects on attentional capacities in adults such as maintaining a
state of alertness (Sumantry & Stewart, 2021) and attention focused on an activity
(Verhaeghen, 2021). A meta-analysis of 6-19-year-olds also concluded that cogni-
tive performance, measured by attention tests, was most influenced by mindfulness
(Zener et al., 2014). Not all the studies on mindfulness and attention show a link
between these two variables (e.g., Withfield et al., 2021). However, many converge
on the positive effects of mindfulness on attention as well as on related cognitive
functions.
182
Executive functions : Executive functions play the role of directing other,

simpler cognitive functions towards a specific goal. They are therefore crucial for
learning. Miyake and his colleagues (2000) differentiate between three functions
in adults : flexibility (switching), also called “attentional displacement” between
mental processes or tasks, updating of the content of working memory (storage
and processing), and the inhibition of automatic responses. These three functions
are distinct but share common points, and each one plays a significant role in
learning (e.g., Best, Miller, & Naglieri, 2011; Spiegel, Goodrich, Morris, Osborne,
& Lonigan, 2021). These results are consistent with the role executive functions
play in controlling and regulating thoughts and actions (Friedman et al., 2006).
Mindfulness practices can enhance these cognitive functions. For example, it
is common during meditation to get caught up in thoughts that push our atten-
tion away from the exercise. The objective can be to identify these moments of
mind-wandering quickly, and to return to the exercise. Inhibition can be used to
avoid these automatic and irrelevant behaviors, as well as flexibility in moving from
mind-wandering to the current task in a fluid way. The meta-analyses presented
above also report improved executive functions in adults after following mind-
fulness meditation programs, although the size of the effects remained small
compared to a control group that did not follow any intervention (Whitfield et
al. 2021). More specifically, working memory was positively impacted and systema-
tically closely followed by inhibition (except in the meta-analysis by Whitfield et al.,
2021). The positive and significant effect on flexibility was surprisingly less frequent
(only in the meta-analysis by Verhaeghen, 2021). The potential benefit of mind-
fulness-based interventions on children’s executive functions can be envisaged. Out
of the 13 studies with samples under the age of 18, five found a significant effect
of mindfulness on at least one measure of children’s executive function : attention
(Mak et al., 2017).
This first part provides a glimpse of the possibilities offered by mindfulness
practices for the development of attentional and cognitive abilities, and thus for
learning abilities. These practices could improve a person’s ability to focus their
attention on a lesson, exercise or learning, inhibit external and internal distrac-
tors, bring attention back to the current task (flexibility), and allow for better
management of information in the working memory. In an exam situation, mind-
fulness could also promote the mobilization of attention, but also reduce stress,
as explained below.
183
Effects on “hot executive functions” and emotion regulation

Traditionally, executive functions are studied using neutral tasks or situations.
However, it seems that some situations are more emotionally significant than
others. For example, a student in the middle of a mathematics exercise at home
will probably experience low emotional arousal, but if the objective is to solve
the problem under examination conditions, his emotional arousal will be much
higher. Thus, depending on the context, distinct pathways in our brain (more
precisely in the frontal lobe) should exist for “cool” executive functions (absence of/
low emotional arousal), and for “hot” executive functions (presence of greater
emotional arousal). In our example, executive functions are involved in regulating
the student’s emotions to enable him to achieve his goal. In other words, reducing
unpleasant emotions will be partially necessary to promote performance. For this
reason, effective emotion regulation and high levels of performance are observed
in individuals with high executive function.
Even though the connection between executive functions and emotion regulation
has been revealed, its nature (interactional, causal...) remains to be explored. Various
avenues have been considered and explored. Indeed, mindfulness is promoted as a
set of self-regulation practices which aim to increase voluntary control over one’s
cognition (Walsh & Shapiro, 2006). Furthermore, tolerance of unpleasant emotions,
reduction of rumination and improvement of the ability to regulate emotions in an
effective and adaptable way are enhanced through mindfulness practices (Corcoran,
Farb, Anderson, & Segal, 2010). Therefore, mindfulness can increase emotion regu-
lation which in turn may improve learning and academic performance. A literature
review by Theurel, Gimbert and Gentaz (2018) on mindfulness-based programs
in schools found that 78% of the interventions improved emotion regulation skills
in children and adolescents. In addition, mindfulness can prevent and mitigate
emotional disorders, such as anxiety and depression, given that emotional regu-
lation is an important mental health protection factor. Furthermore, mindfulness
has also been used in a promising way to improve teachers’ social and emotional
skills which can also indirectly benefit student well-being (Emerson et al., 2017).
Finally, after having engaged in a few mindfulness meditations1 and integrated
the concepts presented in this article, you might have a new perspective on your
reading activities! And when facing an exam situation, you may find yourself simply
welcoming your emotions and sensations without being overwhelmed by them,
able to single-mindedly focus your attention on the question as soon as you decide
to start working on your exam.
1. You can experience mindfulness practices using the free PREZENS mobile phone application.
184

Lutz, A., Slagter, H. A., Dunne, J. D., & Davidson, on the Links Between Attention
R. J. (2008). Attention regulation and Performance and Mindfulness
monitoring in meditation. Trends in Interventions, Long-Term Meditation
Cognitive Sciences, 12(4), 163-169. https:// Practice, and Trait Mindfulness.
doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2008.01.005 Mindfulness, 12(3), 564-581. https://
Sumantry, D., & Stewart, K.E. (2021). doi.org/10.1007/s12671-020-01532-1
Meditation, Mindfulness, and Zenner, C., Herrnleben-Kurz, S., & Walach,
Attention : A Meta-analysis. H. (2014). Mindfulness-based interven-
Mindfulness, 12(6), 1332-1349. https:// tions in schools : a systematic review
doi.org/10.1007/s12671-021-01593-w and meta-analysis. Frontiers in
Verhaeghen, P. (2021). Mindfulness as Psychology, 5. https://doi.org/10.3389/
Attention Training : Meta-Analyses fpsyg.2014.00603
Exercise 50
Sentences
1) Mindfulness practices propose observing our thoughts, emotions and physical
sensations in the present moment…
2) The goal is to become aware of this back-and-forth movement of attention
between the object and distractions…
3) In other words, reducing unpleasant emotions will be partially necessary…
4) Furthermore, mindfulness has also been used in a promising way to improve
teachers’ social and emotional skills…
Endings
a) to promote performance.
b) which can also indirectly benefit student well-being.
c) with open-mindedness and curiosity, without judgment.
d) by bringing our attention back to the task with kindness and warmth.
185
51) Retrieving information from memory

(Film 11)
Memory is probably one of the broadest areas of cognitive psychology research.
Researchers interested in memory try to develop a better understanding of how
we acquire new knowledge. For example, they describe : (a) cognitive processes
involved in storing new information in memory; (b) how memory is structured or
knowledge is organized; (c) factors that contribute to a better storage of informa-
tion in memory; and (d) how we retrieve information from memory. A complete
review of research and theories related to memory would require more than a
few pages. Thus, the present paper will focus on a single aspect of memory – the
retrieval process.
Retrieving information from memory

Retrieval is the process that allows an individual to gain access to informa-
tion that is stored in memory. Indeed, once information has been encoded and
stored in memory, later use of this information requires bringing it back into our
conscious awareness. In the terminology of cognitive psychologists, when a piece
of information is stored in memory, it is said to be inactive. In order to use it, this
inactive information has to become activated. The retrieval process is the process
responsible for this change of state of information. It allows inactive information
to become activated. Cognitive psychologists have developed interesting models
to explain how the retrieval process works.
One of the major processes that is responsible for retrieving information from
memory is called “spreading of activation” (Collins & Loftus, 1975). When infor-
mation is inactive in memory, it can be seen as “sleeping information”. It will wake
up, that is, it becomes activated if it receives a sufficient amount of activation. Once
this information has been activated, the activation spreads to other information
that is related (semantically, categorically, contextually…) to that former infor-
mation, and this information becomes activated in return. The main property of
the spreading activation mechanism is that it is automatic. It is fast and does not
emerge in conscious awareness and, once triggered, it cannot be stopped.
The principal experimental evidence in favor of the spreading activation process
is what are called priming effects. These effects can be studied through a well-known
paradigm in cognitive psychology – the priming paradigm. It consists of presenting
two pieces of information one after another, then examining to what extent the
186
processing of the first piece of information facilitates (speeds up), disturbs (slows
down), or has no influence on the processing of the second piece of information
that follows. The first piece of information is called “the prime” and the second one
is called “the target”. The factor that is manipulated is the prime – target relation.
Facilitation priming effect refers to a situation in which the prime facilitates
the processing of the target; or the reverse, inhibitory priming effect refers to a
situation in which the prime disturbs processing of the target.
You might wonder how this relates to the spreading activation mechanism.
Because it is assumed that activation spreads further to semantically or contextually
related information, when the prime is semantically or contextually related to the
target, processing of the target is facilitated (speeds up) compared to a situation in
which the prime has no direct link with the target. For example, we automatically
gain access to the word CAT when it is preceded by the word MOUSE but not
when it is preceded by the word NURSE. Because priming effects are very strong
effects that have been broadly studied, priming may be considered to be one of
the most fundamental processes by which information is retrieved from memory.
Nevertheless, everybody has experienced situations in which they were unable to
retrieve information from memory. We will now turn to these situations of memory
retrieval “failures” and specifically briefly discuss a well-known one : the tip-of-the
tongue phenomenon.
The tip of the tongue phenomenon (TOT)

The TOT phenomenon refers to a situation in which we are temporarily unable
to retrieve a word or a name from memory, while (a) we are certain that we possess
this knowledge, and (b) the word or name seems to be close to emerging in our
conscious awareness. Thus, it feels as if the word or name is on the tip of our
tongue. Although it is difficult to evaluate precisely how often TOT experiences
occur, it is clear that everyone experiences TOT regularly. Diary studies1 of TOT
occurrences estimate the TOT rate as about a once-a-week occurrence in everyday

life for young individuals. The rate increases as people get older.
Typically, in a TOT situation, we gain access to some properties of the word or
name searched such as the first letter, the number of syllables, and sounds; or to
others words similar in sound or meaning. Thus, it appears that when experiencing
1. To see how the TOT phenomenon can be studied experimentally, go to the video “Tip of the
tongue exercise” (Film 11).
187
TOT, fragmentary information of the word becomes activated but the word is not
directly accessible to consciousness.
There are currently two main competing hypotheses to explain TOT experiences
– the incomplete activation hypothesis and the blocking hypothesis.
Incomplete activation hypothesis

Within the incomplete activation view, word retrieval from memory results from
a simultaneous accumulation of information from several sources that provide a
sufficient amount of activation for the word to become activated. A TOT expe-
rience occurs when the amount of activation is not sufficient to lead to the word
activation. More specifically, it is assumed that the amount of activation received
is sufficient to allow semantic information activation (i.e., meaning of the word)
but not to activate the phonological information necessary to pronounce the word.
This explains why, when experiencing TOT, we gain access to some properties of
the word only and to semantically related words.
Blocking hypothesis
Within the blocking hypothesis view, TOT experiences correspond to a situation
in which the memory search process takes a wrong track and results in retrieving a
word that is not the intended one. This incorrect retrieved word competes with the
intended one and prevents its retrieval. However, the memory search does not end
up with the incorrect retrieved word accidentally; most of the time, the incorrect
word shares phonological or semantic properties with the searched one. Therefore,
it seems as if the memory search took the right track at first but ends up retrieving
a word that sounds like, or is semantically related to, but not the intended one.
Although it could be irritating to experience TOT or other memory retrieval
“failures” as slips of the tongue or slips of the pen, these phenomena do not consti-
tute memory dysfunctions but are fundamental aspects of human memory.

Brown, A.S. (1991). A review of the tip-of- Collins, A.M. & Loftus, E.F. (1975). A spreading
the-tongue experience. Psychological activation theory of semantic proces-
Bulletin, 109 (2), 204-223. sing. Psychological Review, 82, 407-428.
188
Pour en savoir plus sur le phénomène du « mot sur le bout de la langue »,

reportez-vous aux ressources en ligne. Voir le film intitulé :
Film 11 : Tip of the tongue exercise
D’autres thèmes de la psychologie cognitive à découvrir dans les ressources en ligne :
Pour en savoir plus sur la perception olfactive, voir le texte électronique 52 et
l’audio 52 intitulés :
Can olfactory perception experiences be shared by
individuals ? Variability and stability of olfactory perception
Pour en savoir plus sur la catégorisation des odeurs, voir le texte électronique 53
et la version audio 53 intitulés :
Do categories for odors exist ? The contribution of
categorization to the study of odor perception
Pour en savoir plus sur l’effet Stroop, voir le film intitulé :
Film 12 : Stroop effect
Pour en savoir plus sur les lois de la perception, voir le film intitulé :
Film 13 : Gestalt theory : laws of perceptual organization
Pour vous entraîner au mécanisme de chunking, voir le film intitulé :

Film 14 : Learn how “chunking” improves recall
Pour en savoir plus les différents niveaux d’encodage des informations, voir le film
intitulé :
Film 15 : Differences between structural, phonemic and semantic
encoding : a depth processing effect
189
Chapitre 6
Psychologie des organisations
et ergonomie/
Organisational psychology
and ergonomics
Sommaire
54) Appraisal at the workplace : Between passion and revulsion
(Audio 54) .................................................................................. 193
55) Professional occupational integration :
the advantages and limitations of psychologization (Exercise 55).. 197
56) Organizational stress and burnout (Exercise 56)............................ 201
57) Role ambiguity, role conflict
and organizational stress (Exercise 57) ......................................... 205

58) Learning to work : an introduction to professional didactics (Audio 58)
59) Activity and learning : Research in professional didactics (Exercise 59)
Psychologie des organisations et ergonomie/Organisational psychology… ■ Chapitre 6
Ergonomics is the science designed to make work processes and work environ-
ments healthy and productive. Psychologists working in ergonomics contribute
to the analysis and improvement of work processes and systems so that workers
experience favourable work conditions, satisfaction in their work, and better health.
For example, an ergonomic psychologist might improve office furniture placement
so that employees are more comfortable and sustain less work-related strain.
Industrial-organisational psychologists contribute to an organisation’s success
by improving the performance and well-being of its people. An organisational
psychologist might develop better communication systems within an organisation
to improve the flow of essential information and allow employees to spend less
time responding to emails. The texts in this section will cover a variety of topics
related to human well-being and adaptation of work environments.
54) Appraisal at the workplace : Between passion

and revulsion (Audio 54)
This paper will discuss an important work practice – employee appraisal. How
does one account for the contradiction that persists, despite the passage of time and
trends, between the accumulation of increasingly “precise” tools and procedures
for assessing individual performance and the rather low level of satisfaction that
exists in parallel concerning these same practices (Murphy, 2020) ? We offer here
some avenues for reflection.
The cognitive approach

Most authors and researchers have assumed that performance appraisal is
a rational, neutral and passive process whereby managers try to measure the
performance of their subordinates as objectively as possible. According to this

perspective, any lack of precision in employee performance appraisal (a) is due to
a lack of competence on the part of the assessors or to unsuitable assessment tools
and (b) needs to be combatted because of its negative impact on performance,
satisfaction, motivation and fairness (London, 2003). Given that this is a rationalist
interpretation of appraisal behaviors, these authors formulate accordingly ratio-
nalist recommendations : i.e., improving the reliability of appraisal tools and the
training of assessors. Yet, however hard they try, managers do not always produce
the most “objective” appraisals of their subordinates. Perhaps it is necessary to
193
question a presupposition that has not been explained : Does an assessor really need
to produce “objective” appraisals ? This requires us to assess the real usefulness of
the appraisals they are to produce. What purpose do they serve ? Will these indi-
vidual appraisals be followed up by appropriate rewards or penalties ? And what
is the point of these nice little appraisals if they are not matched by commensu-
rate rewards ? These are some of the questions that underpin a policy review of
appraisal procedures.
Policy approach
Whilst work on cognitive processes is both necessary and useful, research must
also focus on the relationship between the interpersonal, organizational, social
and policy contexts within which the assessor is operating (Tziner, Murhy &
Cleveland, 2005). This research examines the assessor’s behavior from a strategic
policy standpoint. One of the most successful models is that devised by Murphy
and Cleveland (1995). These two authors postulate that managers’ decision-ma-
king methods can only be properly assessed by locating them in their everyday
human-relations management context. More specifically, the policy perspective
suggests that assessors provide imprecise performance appraisals not because
of their inability to produce precise appraisals but rather because they are not
motivated to do so. Thus, assessors may be perfectly capable of making precise
appraisals but may at the same time have many reasons to give indulgent or harsh
appraisals in a manner that is both deliberate and considered.
Appraisal : a means, not an end

It may be that the ultimate objective of managers is not to carry out precise
performance appraisals but to use this process to achieve certain aims.
The relatively low level of satisfaction among the wage-earning population regar-
ding the various appraisals made over the course of a career is cause for concern,
especially for occupational psychologists (Murphy, 2020). It is as if the apprai-
sals (annual appraisal interview, annual performance report, etc.) are perceived
as disconnected from the managerial decisions that ensue. What might be the
reasons for this weak link between appraisal and outcomes in managerial terms ?
194
The resources allocated

As De Montmoulin (1972) rightly noted, if the organization does not give the
manager sufficient resources to pay their staff, their incentive to carry out precise
and fair appraisals will be significantly reduced. What indeed is the point of explai-
ning to employees how they are going to be appraised if they are ultimately to be
offered nothing in return ?
The degree of interdependence

The nature of the organization’s activity, and that of each employee’s post, can
be characterized by varying degrees of interdependence. In the case of high interde-
pendence, the implicit norm is that of lesser differentiation between individual
appraisals, in the interests of intragroup support and cohesion.
The work of nurses and nursing auxiliaries is characterized by a considerable
degree of interdependence. On the other hand, a salesperson employed by a car
dealership enjoys a relatively high degree of independence. A nurse’s work is
meaningful only in the context of the ward on which she is employed. When a
nurse is subject to an annual appraisal, the health service manager might unders-
tandably be tempted to refrain from making too marked distinctions in awarding
ratings as that might jeopardize good relations between colleagues and adversely
affect the overall running of the department, which is the overriding objective.
The extent of formalization of career advancement

Civil service and local government entities have adopted a historically decisive
criterion : seniority. This principle is intended to create staff loyalty, backed up by
arguments such as job stability and progressive pay increments. Regulated condi-
tions of employment help to homogenize career management. The downside of
this system however is less recognition of individual contributions, in other words
individual merit. Advancement according to seniority remains the rule. On the

other hand, individual merit may be recognized in cases where staff move to a new
post or category, generally via an internal competition. Such competitions are an
important feature of the organizational culture of the civil service and local govern-
ment. Thus, managers play no more than a marginal role in their subordinates’
career development since the latter is determined by the result of the competition
and the selection board’s decision.
195
Analysis of a paradox. Decried and cherished :

social and psychological functions of appraisal
Two possible reasons can be identified for the continuing existence and main-
tenance of appraisal practices despite their well-known limitations.
Social function
Appraisal procedures contribute to a sense of social justice. In specifying explicit
criteria known to everyone, appraisal provides a basis for the hierarchy of individual
contributions. Crucially at stake is the need to limit the influence of the assessor’s
subjectivity. In spite of assessors’ training and improvements in procedure, these
biases are still active. It would be quite reasonable therefore to be utterly defeatist
and to do away completely with these catalogues of procedures and good practices,
thereby accepting the irrepressible human propensity to make biased judgments.
But by doing this, we would be abandoning a founding principle of our social func-
tioning, that of justice. Life in society presupposes the acceptance and protection
of these principles of justice. We know that social justice is never absolute but first
and foremost an unattainable horizon. That is probably why, despite the limitations
of work performance appraisal, we have not yet come up with a better way to lay
down rules for living together that reconcile the individual needs of justice and
collective contribution to a joint effort.
Psychological function
The appeal of appraisal relates to the opportunity it offers every individual to
envisage career development, unlike a system in which taking account of individual
merit would be impossible. At issue here is the tension between a model of society
which allows social mobility and one where social position is reproduced according
to heredity, borne of an aristocratic view of society. The way these tensions manifest
themselves within the psyche mirrors several processes : firstly, the need for reco-
gnition, all the more acute when accompanied by a feeling that the work one does
has lost meaning. We are seeing, especially in certain occupations in the services
sector (personal care services, education, etc.), a rising sense of lost bearings.
These professions have been subject to management and accounting constraints
that jeopardize the meaning and confidence in the practices and identities of these
professions. The erosion of work collectives is leaving the individuals increasingly
alone on the job. At the same time, the organization offers to compensate for the
weakening of collectively conceived notions of what constitutes good work by
individualized appraisal procedures devised by experts. Thus, appraisal comes to
196
play the role of supporting a person’s self-image, despite having to be repeated

indefinitely (Vidaillet, 2013) and possibly entailing a risk of loss of self-worth.
Appraisal without end ?

Like rule incompleteness (Crozier & Friedberg, 1977), which points out that
however precise a rule in the organization may be, it can never anticipate the
unexpected, one might imagine that appraisal is equally subject to this same incom-
pleteness. Attempts to rationalize the criteria for assessing individual performance
will never succeed in definitively circumscribing the work needing to be appraised.
By its very nature, the work actually done will inevitably be more complex than
what was originally anticipated.

De Montmollin, M. (1972). Les psychopitres. goal-based perspectives. Thousand
Paris : PUF. Oaks, CA : Sage.
Murphy, K.R. (2020). Performance evalua- Tziner, A., Murphy, K. & Cleveland, J.N.
tion will not die, but it should. Human (2005). Contextual and rater factors
Resource Management Journal, 30(1), affecting rating behavior. Group and
13-31. Organization Management, 30, 89-98.
Murphy, K.R. & Cleveland, J.N. (1995). Vidaillet, B. (2013). L’évaluation au travail,
Understanding performance apprai- entre plainte et séduction. Études,
sal : social, organizational and 419, 9, 185-195.
55) Professional occupational integration :

the advantages and limitations of psychologization
The aim of this chapter is to assess/question the psycho-social assumptions

which underlie occupational integration systems.
The assumptions underlying assistance in finding work

The practices used to help people find work are rooted in a humanist perspective :
to find someone a satisfying job, they need to be helped to identify their “profile”
in such a way as to optimize their search for a suitable job profile. The dominant
197
criterion here is personal fulfilment, based on the assumption that the job search is
more likely to be successful if the job is in line with that person’s “nature”. However,
observation of our own milieu and possibly also that of our own personal situation,
may prompt us to contextualize the suitability of this career choice model in terms
of the present reality of the job market.
Assessing job search assistance practices

Rational choice models might appear to be the best suited when it comes to
assessing job search strategies. As we shall see, however, such models fail to take
account of the implementation of these strategies or their effectiveness. This is
first because they view our psychological functioning from a perspective that is
quite remote from the complex nature of our daily modes of action. It is secondly
because they underestimate the influence of context on these same strategies.
The rational and reasoning individual

A common feature of rational choice (Becker, 1957) and reasoned action
(Fishbein & Azjen, 1975) theories is the assumption that the individual has the
ability to make choices. Job search assistance systems are largely guided by this
underlying assumption, placing access to information (potential training, avai-
lable jobs) at the heart of the adopted practices. However, our choices are also
dependent on factors over which we have varying degrees of control, and which will
accordingly limit our strategies. For example, access to training may be rendered
impossible by geographical remoteness or by the lack of available spots. Faced with
such negative eventualities, individuals must adjust their strategy and readjust
their objectives, which may involve profoundly reviewing their priorities. This
is what might be termed “rationalization” in psychosocial language (Festinger,
1975). Rationalization is an extremely common process in our lives. It consists of
finding good reasons for doing what we have done, or not done, for our successes
and for our failures.
How self-enhancement can play a positive role

in terms of job seeking
People’s professional lives are increasingly punctuated, willy-nilly, by interrup-
tions such as changes in employment and career. Recent research views these
events from the point of view of resilience. Career resilience is viewed as a neces-
sary component of professional involvement and of the individual’s motivation
198
to embark on a career (London, 1983). This approach is exemplified by practices

based on professional resilience developed under the term “life design counseling
dialogue” (LDCD; Guichard, 2008). The aim of LDCD is to help the individual
develop a reflexive response to their situation by proposing a thoroughgoing
process of identity readjustment and analysis of their professional situation.
Whilst personal responses are crucial to job searching, and support measures
are designed to promote them, it would be a mistake to disregard the consequences
such self-enhancement can have in cases of repeated failure or in situations which
are not necessarily conducive to it.
How self-enhancement may have a negative impact

in the context of job-seeking practices
The stereotype threat hypothesis
Research on stereotype threat (Steele & Aronson, 1995) shows that the stereo-
types for which certain categories of individuals may be targeted, especially job
seekers, may in certain circumstances prompt such individuals to adopt beha-
viors that paradoxically confirm these stereotypes. Professional integration support
measures vary according to whether they are focused on the job seeker or on the
socio-economic context. Many research findings (Roques, 2008) emphasize the
individualizing or even stigmatizing characteristics of the former category. We
refer here to research which shows that training on self-presentation, dynamism
and project development entails a high risk of self-blame, particularly in cases
of failure to secure a job (Dagot & Castra, 2002), insofar as it is mainly oriented
towards the individuals and their specific characteristics. Measures in the latter,
socio-economic category focus attention instead on the working or training envi-
ronment, thus shifting the attention away from job seekers and their struggles.
The deleterious impact of job-seeking support based chiefly on self-questio-
ning practices, at the expense of work scenario measures, has been observed by
Dagot (2007). This study shows that where the measures proposed to job seekers
consist mainly of self-enhancement, the risk of dropping out is significantly
higher than where the action chiefly involves being placed in a work context. The
interpretative hypothesis is based on the idea that self-enhancement apparently
involves an identity threat leading the job seekers to abandon the program they
have been offered.
199
Towards balanced support practices

Self-enhancement may thus prove to be threatening to individuals less fami-
liar with writing, reading and the personal development culture with which those
who have been through higher education are more familiar. This is firstly because
the semantics employed can engender a conflict of “social cultures”, betraying
the distance of marginalized people from the rhetoric of “personal development”.
This is secondly because, even if this initial pitfall is avoided and the individual
cooperates and plays the personal development game, the risk of a resurgence of
their “fragility” is all the greater if his career has hitherto been marked by more
failures than successes.
It would appear vital therefore for support measures to achieve a satisfactory
balance between self-knowledge, situational awareness, and job opportunities.

Becker, G.S. (1957). The economics of dis- Guichard, J. (2008). Proposition d’un
crimination. University of Chicago schéma d’entretien constructiviste de
Press. conseil en orientation « life designing
Dagot, L. (2007). Menace du stéréo- counseling » pour des adolescents ou
type et performance motivation- des jeunes adultes. L’Orientation sco-
nelle : le cas des demandeurs laire et professionnelle, 37, 413-440.
d’emploi. L’Orientation Scolaire et London, M. (1983). Toward a theory
Professionnelle, 36, 343-356. of career motivation. Academy of
Dagot, L. & Castra, D. (2002). L’allégeance : Management Review, 8, 620-630.
un principe des logiques d’aide à l’in- Roques, M. (2008). Les dimensions psy-
sertion professionnelle. L’Orientation chologiques et psychosociales dans
scolaire et professionnelle, 3, 417-442. l’évaluation de l’efficacité des dispo-
Festinger, L. (1957). A Theory of Cognitive sitifs d’insertion. Pratiques psycholo-
Dissonance. Stanford, CA : Stanford giques, 14(3), 375-388.
University Press. Steele, C. M. & Aronson, J. (1995).
Fishbein, M.A. & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, Stereotype threat and the intellec-
attitude, intention and behavior : an tual test performance of African
introduction to theory and research. Americans. Journal of Personality
Reading, MA : Addison Wesley. and Social Psychology, 69(5), 789-811.
200
Exercise 55
Questions
1) What is the dominant criterion to help people find a job ?
2) What main criticism does the author make of “rational choice theory” as
applied to job-seeking strategies ?
3) What is LDCD’s aim ?
4) According to the author, what risks do employment strategies carry when they
place their emphasis on the individual ?
5) What does the author recommend for achieving better occupational integra-
tion systems ?
56) Organizational stress and burnout

Stress at work has become the subject of considerable public debate in recent
years. Stress refers to the emotional and physiological reactions to stressors, that
is, the demands, situations or circumstances that disrupt a person’s equilibrium. At
work, as in ordinary life, we can experience three types of stress : acute, post-trau-
matic, and chronic. A special form of chronic stress at work that impairs many
people is called “burnout”.
Acute stress, post-traumatic stress

and chronic stress (or burnout)
An acute stress reaction may develop after exposure to a traumatic event, for
instance, a physical aggression or an accident. However, following the sudden
arousal state, a return to “normal” can be expected within a fairly short period of
time. When people face a life-threatening event, they first experience acute stress.
Nevertheless, following such an event, a delayed response can also develop : the
post-traumatic stress reaction. In that case, the onset of symptoms ranges from
immediate to delayed, sometimes 6 months following the event. People suffering
from post-traumatic stress re-experience the traumatic event, that is, recurrent
and distressing memories of the trauma. Symptoms include intrusive memo-
ries of the event, avoidance of places or things that remind them of the event,
withdrawal, and psychological and physiological reactivity to cues that trigger
those recollections.
201
Unlike acute and post-traumatic stress, which are responses to abrupt, easily
identified major events, burnout, a form of chronic stress, doesn’t occur overnight.
It is a cumulative process, beginning with little warning, and developing gradually.
Its causes are more difficult to identify. Burnout can be conceptualized as the final
stage in the rupture of adaptation resulting from the long term disequilibrium
between work demands and work resources.
To date, scholars consider that burnout is a three stage process.
The first one, emotional exhaustion, refers to feelings of being overextended
and depleted of one’s emotional and physical resources, resulting in loss of energy
and chronic fatigue. Workers feel they are no longer able to give of themselves at
a psychological level.
• With the second stage, cynicism, people respond to persistent stress (or
emotional exhaustion) by developing cynical attitude towards their work, their
colleagues, or by putting a distance between themselves and service recipients
(clients, pupils, etc.). We also name this second stage “depersonalization of
relationships”. Through cynicism or depersonalization, employees attempt to
distance themselves emotionally from their job, colleagues, recipients, as a way
of coping with emotional exhaustion and job demands.
• The third stage of the burnout syndrome is reduced personal accomplishment.
It refers to the fact that employees evaluate their work and themselves negatively
and feel dissatisfied with their work accomplishments.
Symptoms and consequences of burnout

It is of great importance to recognize the signs of burnout in order to prevent
or treat its harmful effects. Of course, as burnout develops gradually, its symptoms
and consequences develop accordingly. As a consequence, people may not pay
attention to warning signals.
At the physical level, depleted energy or chronic fatigue is the most typical
symptom of burnout. Various psychosomatic disorders such as ulcers or gastro-in-
testinal problems can develop. Often people who suffer from burnout report
physical complaints such as headaches and musculoskeletal disorders. Prolonged
colds and flu, and, more generally, an increased susceptibility to viral infection, are
frequently reported. Actually, when stress level is high for a long period of time,
the immune system is impaired due to a reduced level of hormones such as ACTH
or cortisol. Sleep disturbances also frequently occur.
At the psychological level, when they are burned out, people feel impatient,
moody, and get frustrated more easily that they normally would. Relationships with
202
colleagues, patients, pupils or clients are disturbed. Emotional control decreases,

which can lead to outbursts of crying, irritable and oversensitive attitudes, and
aggressive behaviors. As emotional resources are depleted, because they have been
overused for too long a time, social isolation and withdrawal occur. For instance,
we demonstrated that general practitioners with a high degree of burnout develop
attitudes of withdrawal towards their patients (Truchot, Roncari & Bantegnie,
2010). Burnout is also associated with addictive behaviors and eating disorders.
Cognitive skills might be impaired : concentration becomes difficult and thinking
becomes more rigid.
At the organizational level, with burnout there is also an increased rate of
absenteeism, staff turnover, and sick leave. People suffering from burnout tend to
be less effective at work.
Etiology of burnout
As stated above, burnout results from a rupture of equilibrium between work
demands and work resources. Job demands include work stimuli that require
sustained physical, cognitive, and emotional efforts on the part of the employee,
and that lead to negative consequences if the efforts required go beyond the usual.
Note that job demands can be proximal or distal. When proximal, they may be asso-
ciated with the content of the job : time pressure, work overload, task complexity,
variety of task performed, problem with equipment (e.g., computers), shift work,
exposure to risk and hazards, etc. Proximal demands may also be associated with
the immediate work environment : lack of participation in decisions, role conflict
and role ambiguity, poor career development perspectives, quality of supervision,
etc. When distal, job demands include characteristics like job instability or inse-
curity, involuntary termination (i.e., reducing the size of the workforce, and all the
pressures due to the global economy – merger, downsizing, etc.).
Job resources refer to those psychological, social, or organizational characte-
ristics that reduce job demands, stimulate personal growth and engagement, and
that are functional in achieving work goals. Not only may job resources have a
direct positive effect on employees well-being, they may also reduce the impact
of job demands, i.e., buffer the effects of stress. These resources can be situated
and analysed at the level of the task (e.g., skill variety, autonomy), at the level of
the organization of work and supervison (e.g., role clarity), at the level of social
relationships (supervisory style, coworker support), or at the level of the global
organization (e.g., salary). If resources are lacking, therefore, the employee is at risk
of experiencing burnout, not only because work is less rewarding, but also because
it is more difficult, even impossible, to face job demands.
203
A good example of resources at work is social support. This refers to the belief
that one is cared for, esteemed, valued, and that one belongs to a network of mutual
obligations (Cobb, 1976). House (1981) differentiated between four main categories
of social support. Emotional support takes the form of empathy, concern, trust, or
sympathy with a person’s difficulty. Informational support occurs when the person
is given advice, suggestions that give her or him assistance in facing situational
demands. Appraisal support involves information, especially feedback, concerning
the person’s functioning. Instrumental support includes concrete behaviors such
as giving direct help, money, and practical interventions on the person’s behalf.
It is comprehensible that these several functions of support are rewarding and
help to treat problems at work. Of course, social support is not the only resource
potentially available. For example, feelings of control and mastery and perceptions
of justice and fairness are also basic requirements that, if lacking, impinge on
employee burnout.
Nevertheless, we must keep in mind that work is not necessarily always boring,
stressful, or physically dangerous. Work is part of the development of self esteem
and social identity. It provides the opportunity to develop one’s skills and social
engagement. Loss of work is associated with a myriad of negative reactions ranging
from loss of social contact to chronic illness and suicide.

Truchot, D. (2004). Épuisement pro- et retrait psychologique chez les
fessionnel et burnout : concepts, médecins généralistes : Une étude
modèles, interventions. Paris : Dunod. exploratoire. L’Encéphale, Revue de
Truchot, D., Bantégnie, D., & Roncari, N. psychiatrie clinique biologique et
(2010). Burnout, compliance du patient thérapeutique, 37, 1.
204
Exercise 56
Questions
1) What is the onset period for symptoms of post-traumatic stress ?
2) Is burnout easy to identify when it first appears ?
3) A teacher makes dismissive remarks to colleagues about students. What
symptom, characteristic of the second phase of burnout, might this be ?
4) Is the risk of losing one’s job as a result of downsizing a proximal or a distal
job demand ?
5) What are the four categories of social support referred to in the text ?
57) Role ambiguity, role conflict

and organizational stress
Social role and role conflict
A role, or social role, refers to the set of expected behaviors, rights, and obliga-
tions associated with a particular social status or social position. Within a social
role, appropriate and expected behaviors are dictated by social norms, that is to
say, organizational rules and regulations supposed to be known by the individuals
playing the role and by those who interact with them.
To perform a role, an individual has to know the expectations of the role set (e.g.,
duties, responsibilities), the activities required to perform the role adequately, and
the consequences of the role performance for self, others, and the organization
(Kahn, Wolfe, Quinn, Snoek, & Rosenthal, 1964). According to Katz and Kahn
(1978, p. 197), “The process of organizational role-taking is simplest when a role
consists of only one activity, is located in a single subsystem of the organization, and
relates to a role-set all of whose members are in the same organizational subsystem”.
Nevertheless, when there is uncertainty about work requirements or when indivi-
duals engage in multiple incompatible roles, psychological tensions will arise due
to role ambiguity and role conflict.
Role ambiguity
Role ambiguity refers to a lack of information about the requirements of one’s
role, a lack of clarity about expected behaviors in one’s work activity, or to the
205
unpredictability of the consequences of one’s role performance. In either case,

what is expected is vague, unclear, and ill-defined, and employees do not know how
their role requirements are to be met. Additionally, in work environments where
there is work ambiguity, people are obviously uncertain about the evaluative proce-
dures that will ensure that the role was performed successfully. Role ambiguity
can concern the task itself : in that case, it refers to uncertainty about work requi-
rements. It can also concern the way employees are evaluated by another person.
Role ambiguity could occur, for instance, in a newly-created job, or when there
are continuous organizational changes, or when the work entails crossing organiza-
tional boundaries. In some professions, work assignements are particularly broad,
leaving much to the judgement of the professionals. This is particularly true for
social workers, for whom the scope of the job and the expectations of others are
broad and ill-defined.
Since role ambiguity implies a lack of information about the way to perform
a job, it reduces the links between effort and performance, as well as the links
between performance and rewards. This, in turn, will lower motivation and perfor-
mance at work.
Role conflict
In the organizational literature, role conflict is often associated with role ambi-
guity. Role conflict arises when a person faces pressures to comply with inconsistent
demands. For instance, a nurse may have to deal with contradictory expectations
from doctors and patients. Another example of role conflict occurs when organi-
zational expectations conflict with one’s own beliefs or values.
Rizzo et al. (1970, p. 155) identify four principal types of role conflict :
1) Person-role conflict : “Conflict between the focal person’s internal standards or
values and the defined role.” A person-role conflict occurs when an employee
perceives a conflict between his or her values and expectations on the one hand,
and those of the organization or the supervisors on the other. For instance, the
organizational pressure to discharge patients or clients quickly, the lack of time
to provide emotional support, may be at odds with the professional ideals of
nurses or social workers. Therefore, the employee will experience an internal
conflict : either s/he acts according to his or her values, or consistently with the
role expectations defined by the organization – or fruitlessly seek a compromise
between the two.
2) Intra-sender conflict refers to an incompatibility among various demands
placed on the employee. It also includes conflicts between the time and resources
206
at the disposal of the employee and the defined role behavior. This is the case
when a supervisor expresses expectations that are mutually incompatible, when
the employee does not have the skills needed to perform his or her role, or when
resources are insufficient. This sort of role conflict may generate role overload.
In that case, the individual perceives that the cumulative role demand exceeds
his or her ability to perform a task.
3) Inter-role conflict : “Conflict between several roles for the same person which
require different or incompatible behaviors.” Inter-role conflict occurs when the
demands associated with one role are incompatible with the demands stemming
from another role. Role-family conflict is a special case of inter-role conflict
(Greenhaus & Beutell, 1985). It can be time-based, for instance, when role pres-
sures from two domains compete for the individual’s time (e.g., between having
to work late and picking up a child from school). It can be strain-based when
the stress arising from one role interferes with the performance of another role
(e.g., it is difficult for parents who are anxious about a sick child to concentrate
at work). It is behavior-based when two different roles imply incompatible beha-
viors; when a behavior required in one role is inappropriate in another role. For
instance, the authoritarian interaction style of a police officer is inappropriate
when at home. Of course, the conflict is bi-directional. Work can interfere with
family (work-to-family conflict) and family can interfere with work (family-to-
work conflict).
4) Inter-sender conflict is defined as “Conflicting expectations and organiza-
tional demands in the form of incompatible policies”. This is the case when two
or more people (supervisors, colleagues, clients) express expectations that are
incompatible.
Measuring role conflict and role ambiguity

The scale developped by Rizzo, House, and Lirtzman (1970) is the most popular
measure of role conflict and role ambiguity. The assessment of role conflict consists
of eight items referring to job requirement compatibility (e.g., “I receive assignments

without the manpower to complete them”, “I have to do things that should be done
differently”, “I receive incompatible requests from two or more people”). The assess-
ment of role ambiguity consists of six items referring to the clarity or existence of
guidelines and requirements, and to the predictability of outcomes (e.g., “I know
exactly what is expected of me”, “There are clear explanations of what has to be
done”, “I clearly know what my responsibilities are”).
207
Role conflict, role ambiguity and work outcomes

Empirical evidence demonstrates that role conflict and role ambiguity have
detrimental effects on the well-being of workers. They are corrrelated with job
dissatisfaction, tension, anxiety, stress, low commitment to the organization,
reduced performance, and/or propensity to leave.

Greenhaus, J.H., & Beutell, N.J. (1985). work-family interface. In P.L. Perrewe
Sources of conflict between work and & D.C. Ganster (Eds.). Research in occu-
family roles. Academy of Management pational stress and well-being : vol. 5.,
Review, 10, 76-88. p. 61-98. Amsterdam : JAI Press/Elsevier.
Greenhaus, J.H., Allen, T.D., & Spector, P.E. Katz, D., & Kahn, R.L. (1978). The social
(2006). Health consequences of work-fa- psychology of organizations, 2nd ed.
mily conflict : The dark side of the New York : John Wiley and Sons.
Exercise 57
Questions
1) Why do social workers suffer from role ambiguity ?
2) Someone’s job requires them to do something they believe to be morally
wrong. What sort of role conflict is this ?
3) I find I cannot do what my boss wants and what my customer wants. What
sort of conflict is this ?
4) What is “role overload” ?
5) Why is it in the interests of organisations to reduce role ambiguity ?
D’autres thèmes de la psychologie des organisations à découvrir dans les ressources

en ligne :
Pour en savoir plus sur la didactique professionnelle et les recherches dans le domaine,
reportez-vous aux ressources en ligne suivants et leurs supports :
Voir le texte électronique 58 et la version audio 58
intitulés “Learning to work : an introduction to professional didactics”.
Voir le texte électronique 59 intitulé “Activity and learning :
Research in professional didactics”.
208
Chapitre 7
Neuropsychologie/
Neuropsychology
Sommaire
60) The relation between cognition and brain functioning :
an introduction to neuroscience (Audio 60 et Exercise 60) ...... 211
61) Drug addiction : neurobiological basis
of dependence (Exercise 61) ........................................................... 215
62) The neuropsychological examination (Audio 62) ...................... 220

63) Neuropsychological tests assessing constructional abilities : conceptual
and executive functions (Exercice 63)
64) Coping and quality of life in relation to depression and anxiety in
Parkinson’s disease (Audio 64)
Films à retrouver dans les ressources en ligne :

Film 16 : Neurocognitive psychology : memory
Film 17 : Bases of neuropsychology : Course 1
Neuropsychologie/Neuropsychology ■ Chapitre 7
Neuropsychology is both a scientific discipline and an area of applied clinical

practice. Neuropsychologists examine the structure and function of the brain and
nervous system. They are also particularly concerned with specific psychological
processes and overt behaviours that are related to brain structures or functions.
One major applied practice is neuropsychological testing conducted in multiple
clinical settings, including rehabilitation hospitals that treat patients with brain
injuries or cognitive and/or behavioural disorders. Some neuropsychologists are
both academics and clinicians. They may work in industry using their knowledge
in the management of pharmaceuticals or clinical trials for drugs that might impact
the brain and subsequent cognitive functions and behaviours. When neuropsycho-
logists work in forensic settings, they assess people for legal reasons. For example,
as expert witnesses, they might determine whether individuals have the necessary
cognitive capacity to appreciate the impact of their criminal behaviours. A variety
of neuroscientific topics, of interest to those who study and practice neuropsycho-
logy, will be covered in this section.
60) The relation between cognition

and brain functioning : an introduction
to neuroscience (Audio 60)
The nervous system is at the origin of behavior and cognitive functions, including
actions, feelings, memories, thoughts, etc. It is composed of the brain, the spinal
cord, and nerves. The aim of neuroscience is to understand the nervous system
and the pathologies that might affect it (Purves & Augustine, 2003). Important
advances were made in this discipline during the 20th century, providing a better
understanding of brain function. Two examples of these major discoveries will be
considered here, illustrated by three recent findings that have revealed illuminated
areas of nervous system dysfunction.

Luigi Galvani (1737-1798) was the first to observe “animal” electricity while
working on muscle contractions in frog legs. He accidentally observed that hanging
frog legs on a metal balcony provoked a contraction. This muscle contraction is
initiated by an electrical current called the nervous influx. Herman von Hemholtz
(1821–1894) measured the flow speed of this nervous influx; it is slower than the
speed of light but can reach the speed of one hundred meters per second. At present,
we know that the nervous influx is an electrical current that is conveyed by neurons,
specialized cells that are part of the nervous system. Neurons can communicate with
211
each other and the rest of the organism by means of this nervous influx. The nervous
influx is conveyed along axons and dendrites, which are extensions of the neurons.
This activity is at the root of our behavior and cognitive functions.
A question frequently asked of researchers in neuroscience is what a memory is,
or, more precisely, how memories are encoded in the brain. At first sight, this ques-
tion seems trivial, but a better understanding of what a memory trace in the brain is
could help us find ways to get rid of traumatic memories that can cause problems in
the everyday life of patients with post-traumatic stress disorder. Investigations on
rodents have led researchers to identify the chain of neurons, also called a neuronal
network, responsible for a specific fear memory (Han et al., 2009). Rodents can
acquire fear memories during an experimental procedure called fear conditioning.
The rodents are subjected once to small electric shocks in the paws while an audi-
tory signal sounds. When the animals are moved to a new place and hear the special
signal again, they “freeze”. Freezing is associated with motion inhibition and physio-
logical responses such as tachycardia and secretion of stress hormones. This specific
behavior corresponds to a behavioral fear response that can be quantified by the
time they remain motionless. During the acquisition of this fear memory, resear-
chers have identified a few neurons, located in a cerebral area called the amygdalae,
that are selectively activated, i.e., they produce electrical nervous influx specifically
when a mouse hears the fear-inducing tone. Biological and genetic manipulations
allowed the researchers to target these particular neurons for selective erasure.
Once these neurons are expressly deleted, the rodents lose the associated fear beha-
vior : when they hear the sound that previously induced freezing, they no longer
present any freezing behavior. Researchers have thus successfully erased a specific
fear memory. These findings do not mean that we can erase specific memories in
humans, but they provide strong evidence for the existence of a memory trace in the
brain. In a follow-up experiment, the same team of researchers was able to create a
false memory by modifying the hippocampus, another brain region highly involved
in the memory process (Ramirez et al., 2013). These approaches have spurred new
ways of investigating how a memory is encoded in the human brain and give new
clues to psychologists and neuroscientists as to how to develop future techniques
to overcome the dramatic effects of traumatic memories on everyday life.
Another important finding for neuroscience was made during the First World
War. Surgeons had to heal many soldiers with head injuries, removing part of the
skull and leaving the brain unprotected. Although a head injury is lethal most
of the time, some people can survive it. Surgeons observed that touching this
exposed brain matter does not induce any pain in the patients. Benefiting from the
observations of brain insensitivity, Wilder Penfield (1891-1976), a neurosurgeon,
212
discovered that electrical stimulation of a specific cortical area can induce invo-
luntary movements or sensations in some body parts. More precisely, he identified
that stimulating a specific area called the precentral gyrus (located in the frontal
lobe, the anterior part of the brain) induces bodily movement : stimulation of the
upper part of this cerebral area produces movement in the lower part of the body
(feet and legs), while movement of the face or tongue follow stimulation of the
most inferior parts of the precentral gyrus. These observations allow us to draw
up a motor representation of the body on the surface of the brain ; this schematic
representation is called the motor homunculus. Similar findings were made for the
cerebral area just posterior to the precentral gyrus, the postcentral gyrus; stimula-
ting this area induces sensation in the corresponding body parts. In the same way,
a sensory representation of the body is present on the surface of the brain, leading
Penfield to build the sensory homunculus.
Besides identifying the functions of these brain areas, these findings led to the
conclusion that the brain does not have any pain receptors like the rest of the body,
allowing the investigation of its functioning in conscious patients. This is specifi-
cally important for patients suffering from brain tumors or who present brain tissue
that does not function normally, such as patients with epilepsy, an incapacitating
disease caused by the sudden and massive electrical activity of certain neurons in a
specific part of the brain. Normally, when surgeons must remove body tissue, they
remove a large piece, including healthy tissue, to be sure that tumors or malfu-
nctioning cells are removed. This large resection is possible because all the cells
of the body can be replaced. But this is not the case with neurons, which cannot
regenerate. Thus, when brain tissue has to be removed, it is vitally important to cut
out the malfunctioning tissue and leave the healthy tissue as intact as possible. If
healthy tissue is removed, cerebral activity can be irremediably lost along with the
behavioral and cognitive functioning dependent on this activity. During surgical
resection of tumors or epileptic foci in the postcentral gyrus, the neurosurgeon can
stimulate the surrounding tissue while the neuropsychologist questions the patient
about what he feels (Desmurget et al., 2009). If the patient expresses that he has a
special sensation like tingling, the neuropsychologist indicates to the neurosurgeon
that the stimulated cerebral area is functioning well. If no sensation is perceived
by the patient, this indicates that a non-functioning area is being stimulated, and
that it should be removed. This procedure leads to better post-surgery recovery.
Observing the brain’s insensitivity has also enabled French researchers to develop
a new technique to reduce or completely stop trembling in patients suffering from
Parkinson’s disease, which is characterized by a progressive loss of neurons in the
basal ganglia of the brain, leading to motor dysfunction. By implanting electrodes
213
in this particular region, without any pain for the patients, it is possible to send a
small amount of current in order to increase the activity of the remaining intact
neurons and compensate for the loss of the dead neurons (Drouot et al., 2004).
This technique improves the quality of life of patients by completely stopping
trembling – yet, unfortunately, it cannot cure them.
Exploring the relation between the brain and behavior/cognition has led to
major discoveries that have improved the quality of life of numerous patients.
Nonetheless, further investigation is necessary to find new ways of curing the
diseases that affect the nervous system.

Desmurget, M., Reilly, K.T., Richard, N., Han, J.H., Kushner, S.A., Yiu, A.P., Hsiang,
Szathmari, A., Mottolese, C., & Sirigu, H.L., Buch, T., Waisman, A., Bontempi,
A. (2009). Movement intention after B., Neve, R.L., Frankland, P. W., &
parietal cortex stimulation in humans. Josselyn, S.A. (2009). Selective era-
Science, 324, 811-813. sure of a fear memory. Science, 323,
Drouot, X., Oshino, S., Jarraya, B., Besret, 1492-1496.
L., Kishima, H., Remy, P., Dauguet, Purves, D., & Augustine, G. (2003).
J., Lefaucheur, J.-P., Dollé, F., Condé, Neuroscience. Bruxelles : De Boeck
F., Bottlaender, M., Peschanski, M., University.
Kéravel, Y., Hantraye, P., & Palfi S. Ramirez S., Liu X., Lin P.A., Suh J., Pignatelli
(2004). Functional recovery in a pri- M., Redondo R.L., Ryan T.J., Tonegawa
mate model of Parkinson’s disease S. (2013). Creating a false memory
following motor cortex stimulation. in the hippocampus. Science, 341,
Neuron, 44, 769-778. 387-391.
Exercise 60
Questions
1) What are the three components of the nervous system ?
2) What is the quantifiable behaviour in a mouse which demonstrates fear ?
3) Which part of the body moves if the lowest part of the precentral gyrus is
stimulated ?
4) What distinctive feature of the brain makes it possible to study its function in
conscious subjects ?
5) How has it been possible to stop trembling in Parkinson’s patients ?
214
Pour en savoir plus sur les différents types de mémoire et leur rôle, reportez-vous aux
ressources en ligne.
Film 16 : Neurocognitive psychology : memory
61) Drug addiction : neurobiological basis of dependence

Alcohol dependence and other drug addictions are characterized by criteria such
as tolerance development, withdrawal symptoms, drug craving and reduced control
of drug intake. Recently, according to the DSM-V-TR, alcohol abuse and alcohol
dependence are merged into a single disorder, called “alcohol use disorder” (AUD),
with mild (2-3 criteria), moderate (4-5 criteria), and severe (6+ criteria) sub-clas-
sifications. A problematic pattern of alcohol use leading to clinically significant
impairment or distress is manifested by at least two of the following, occurring
within a 12-month period :
1) Alcohol is often taken in larger amounts or over a longer period than was
intended.
2) There is a persistent desire for or unsuccessful efforts to cut down or control
alcohol use.
3) A great deal of time is spent on activities necessary to obtain alcohol, use alcohol,
or recover from its effects.
4) Craving, or a strong desire or urge to use alcohol (new criterion).
5) Recurrent alcohol use resulting in a failure to fulfill major role obligations at
work, school, or home.
6) Continued alcohol use despite having persistent or recurrent social or interper-
sonal problems caused or exacerbated by the effects of alcohol.
7) Important social, occupational, or recreational activities are given up or reduced
because of alcohol use.
8) Recurrent alcohol use in situations in which it is physically hazardous.

9) Alcohol use is continued despite knowledge of having a persistent or recurrent
physical or psychological problem that is likely to have been caused or exacer-
bated by alcohol.
10) Tolerance, as defined by either of the following :
a) A need for markedly increased amounts of alcohol to achieve intoxication
or desired effect.
b) A markedly diminished effect with continued use of the same amount of
alcohol.
215
11) Withdrawal, as manifested by either of the following :

a) The characteristic withdrawal syndrome for alcohol.
b) Alcohol (or a closely related substance, such as a benzodiazepine) is taken
to relieve or avoid withdrawal symptoms.
Whatever the psychoactive substance used, the withdrawal syndrome is due
to the cessation of (or reduction in) heavy and prolonged substance use. It causes
significant physical and psychological distress or impairment in social, occupa-
tional, or other important areas of functioning. Withdrawal symptoms can vary
significantly among individuals, but there are some commonalities.
Physical dependence Withdrawal syndrome
Craving / Reduced control of drug intake

Psychological dependence
Positive reinforcement
Neurobiological basis of drug use disorders

Use of ethanol (alcohol), nicotine (tobacco), delta–9-tetrahydrocannabinol
(cannabis), heroin and opiates, cocaine, amphetamines or ecstasy (MDMA) leads
to activation of the reward system, located in the brain and involving the following
anatomical structures :
• Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA), populated with dopamine neurons, and
4 efferent fiber projections : mesocortical, mesolimbic, mesostriatal and tube-
roinfundibular pathways.
• Nucleus Accumbens (NAc), with dopamine neuron projections from VTA.
• Prefrontal Cortex (involved in executive functions and behavioral control), and
Orbito-frontal Cortex (involved in cognitive processes such as decision-making),
with dopamine neuron projections from VTA.
• Amygdala and hippocampus, involved in explicit and implicit memorization,
conditioned response, learned associations and reinforcement processes.
• Substantia Nigra (a part of the basal ganglia, including the striatum), with dopa-
mine neuron projections from VTA.
Dopamine is one of the neurotransmitters involved in the process of reward and
reinforcement. Like other drugs, alcohol initially increases dopamine release in
the mesocorticolimbic system, which is mediated through interactions with other
signaling systems and neurotransmitters, such as the following :
• glutamate (primary excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system),
with its N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors ;
216
• gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) ;

• serotonin, with receptors for activation (5-HT1B) and inhibition (5-HT1A,
5-HT2C and 5-HT3) when alcohol is used ;
• endogenous opioids, such as beta-endorphins, pro-enkephalins and dynorphins
(with opioid receptors) ;
• cannabinoids, with its CB1 receptors ;
• norepinephrine (involved with serotonin in nicotine dependence).
Dopamine is a key element in identifying natural rewards for the organism. These
natural stimuli such as food and water cause individuals to engage in approach
behaviors. Dopamine is also involved in unconscious memorization of signs asso-
ciated with these rewards. The assessment of satisfaction of needs (hunger, thirst,
sex, friendship), i.e., natural signals, leads to the activation of the VTA first and
NAc second. But psychoactive substances short-circuit this system by activating
the pleasure circuits directly. The drug is used for its pleasant effects : well-being
and pleasure sensations (reward).
In the work of American psychologist Burrhus Frederic Skinner, operant condi-
tioning is the use of consequences to modify the occurrence and form of behaviour.
Positive reinforcement occurs when a behavior (response) is followed by a favorable
stimulus (commonly seen as pleasant) that increases the frequency of the behaviour.
So, the psychoactive substance is used again and again, leading to dependence. But
during the dependence period, in order to avoid the withdrawal syndrome, people
need to use their drug : this is negative reinforcement. It occurs when a behavior
(response) is followed by the removal of an aversive stimulus (commonly seen as
unpleasant), thereby increasing the frequency of that behavior.
The case of alcohol use

Normally, the GABAergic interneurons inhibit the dopaminergic neurons that
project from the VTA to the nucleus accumbens, and modulate the dopamine
released after a pleasant sensation. These GABAergic neurons are activated through
the action of the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate.
When alcohol is used in large amounts (for example in binge drinking), dopa-
minergic neurons are directly overactivated, leading to euphoria, joviality, and
disinhibition; secondly, acute alcohol use induces endorphin release, resulting in
activation of mu receptors on the GABAergic neurons (VTA). Moreover, there
is an inhibition of glutamate effects on GABAergic neurons due to alcohol leading
to decreased GABAergic activity in the VTA, and subsequently increased firing of
the dopaminergic neurons, resulting in increased dopamine release in the NAc.
217
Glutamate
–
GABA
Dopamine
Figure 6 - Without alcohol
+ Glutamate
Alcohol
– – Opioids
Dopamine
–
Figure 7 - Acute alcohol
During chronic alcohol use, we observe an alteration of NMDA receptor numbers,

as well as an alteration (desensitization) of dopamine receptors (D2).
During withdrawal from alcohol (after chronic use leading to dependence), gluta-
mate input to GABAergic neurons is increased, leading to decreased dopamine
release. Moreover, dopaminergic activity is reduced in the VTA. Abrupt cessation
of alcohol exposure results in brain hyperexcitability because receptors previously
inhibited by alcohol are no longer inhibited. Brain hyperexcitability manifests clini-
cally as anxiety, irritability, agitation, and tremors. Severe manifestations include
alcohol withdrawal seizures and delirium tremens. Some medications are proposed
218
to alcoholics during withdrawal to maintain abstinence and reduce craving; these

include Naltrexone, Acamprosate and Nalmefene. Naltrexone (Revia®) is an
opioid-receptor antagonist, and its effects are likely due to the modulation of the
dopaminergic mesolimbic pathway. Acamprosate (Aotal®) reduces the release of
excitatory neurotransmitters like glutamate, which activates NMDA receptors.
More recently, Nalmefene (Selincro®), which is a mu-opioid antagonist and partial
kappa-opioid agonist, has proved very effective in treating AUD.
Drug addiction is a chronic relapsing disorder characterized by compulsive drug
intake, loss of control over intake, and impairment in social and occupational func-
tion. A specific portion of the limbic circuit known as the mesolimbic dopaminergic
system is involved in craving, and in the compulsive behaviour described in cases
of psychological dependence.

American Psychiatric Association (2022). Naassila, M. (2018). Neurobiological bases
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of alcohol addiction. Presse Med.,
of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, 47(6), 554-564.
Text Revision (DSM-V-TR®), American Uhl, G.R., Koob, G.F., Cable, J. (2019). The
Psychiatric Association. neurobiology of addiction. Annals of
Heim, D. (2014). Addiction : Not just brain the New York Academy of Sciences,
malfunction. Nature, 507(7490), 40. 1451(1), 5-28.
Exercise 61
Questions
1) What are the symptoms of brain hyperexcitability ?
2) Which of the following is not generally associated with withdrawal from
tobacco ? Anxiety, tearfulness, increased appetite ?

3) How many of the DSM-V-TR’s criteria for AUD need to be observed within
a 12-month period to warrant a diagnosis ?
4) Someone drinks alcohol in order to avoid unpleasant withdrawal symptoms.
What sort of reinforcement is this ?
5) What is the VTA ?
219
62) The neuropsychological examination

(Audio 62)
There are no set rules for neuropsychological examinations. Nevertheless, some
procedures are necessary for an examination that is both effective, in terms of elici-
ting the desire for information, and that does not raise the level of stress that most
patients experience when anticipating a neuropsychological examination. Ideally,
the patient will be less stressed when leaving the examination and will have a better
understanding of his/her cognitive problems, if any, and how to deal with them.
The referral question(s)

Typically, a patient receives a neuropsychological examination because someone,
usually a person responsible for the patient’s well-being (physician, rehabilitation
team, teacher, or parent) becomes aware that the patient is having cognitive or
behavioral problems that may be related to brain impairment. In some cases, the
patient him/herself seeks an assessment because of concerns about his/her mental
abilities. The referral usually comes in the form of a question, such as : “Are this
elderly person’s memory complaints due to depression or are they the precursors
of a process of dementia ?” or, “Will this 16-year-old boy who got a concussion
playing football this summer be able to take on a normal course load when he
returns to school ?” or, “Has removal of the patient’s brain tumor improved her
cognitive functioning ?”. Whenever possible, the neuropsychologist will receive
medical or school information about the patient before the interview. This infor-
mation, including the reasons that prompted the referral, will help the examiner
plan the examination. While the referral question is the focus of the examination,
in the course of the examination, additional questions that need to be answered
will often become apparent.
Beginning the examination

These examinations typically begin with an interview during which the examiner
will : (1) explain the nature and substance of the examination; (2) learn what the
patient expects and clarify any misunderstandings; (3) take a history of the presen-
ting problem(s); even if this information is available in medical or school records, it
is always useful to learn the patient’s understanding of his/her problem(s); (4) ask
about present problems, including any that might affect the patient’s functioning
during the examination (e.g., a sleepless night; no lunch – which should stop the
proceedings until the patient has had something to eat).
220
Other information that should be obtained in the initial interview include school
and work history, family and living situations, a discussion of the patient’s usual
daily activities, a review of drug use and current medication, and how the patient
describes his/her current emotional state. If there are payment issues, they should
also be discussed at this time. Confidentiality is an important issue in which the
patient should receive reassurance that the examiner will stick to the rules on
patient confidentiality.
Before closing the interview and beginning the neuropsychological examination,
the neuropsychologist should ask whether the subject has other questions – about
the examination, about the examiner, other issues. (It is surprising to find out what
issues may arise.)
Test selection
Although many neuropsychologists have a pre-planned selection of tests, with
which they begin the test part of the examination, the information collected
during the interview may prompt the examiner to omit some tests as unneces-
sary or to choose those at a higher – or lower – level than the usual ones. After
obtaining an overview of the patient’s cognitive status for each major faculty, the
examiner will select additional tests especially relevant to the patient’s complaints,
deficits or suspected weaknesses observed in the course of the interview and in
the basic test review of functions. Although the neuropsychological examination
will be similar for most patients, it will not be exactly identical, depending on
each patient’s unique assessment needs. The choice of tests and the order in
which they are done will always be subject to change, depending on what new
information becomes available in the course of the examination, and the comfort
level of the subject.
Other issues determining testing procedures

The length of an examination is different for each patient. It will not only depend
on how much testing needs to be done, but also on the patient’s condition. For
example, an examination that was planned to take place over four hours may have
to be discontinued after two because the patient has become too tired, or has a
painful disorder that is made worse by sitting still. The limits of the patient’s avai-
lable time will also determine what tests to give, which ones are less important,
and which must be given to answer the relevant questions.
The order in which the tests are given can change the point at which it becomes
evident that the patient is upset when taking a test involving a specific kind of
221
dysfunction. However, because this is the set of functions that needs to be the most
carefully studied, the examiner must find a way to give those very tests. Often, this
can be accomplished by alternating certain necessary, but disagreeable tests, with
others where the patient is more likely to succeed. Changing the pre-planned order
may also be necessary with restless or inattentive patients.
The follow-up interview

Most patients and their families will benefit from a follow-up consultation in
which the examination findings are reviewed and recommendations are offered –
for remedial care, medication, further examinations, or ways in which the patient
and family may be able to improve communication, enhance everyday functioning
and so on. Ideally, this information needs time and is provided to the patient – and
any family members the patient wishes to include. Occasionally, this is not possible
due to time or travel limitations. When possible, the psychologist sends the patient
a report containing findings and recommendations which may be less technical
than the formal report sent to the referring physician.
Although the reason for most neuropsychological examinations is to docu-
ment the nature and practical implications of neuropsychological dysfunction, the
most important purpose, implicit in some referrals, explicit in others, is whether
the patient can benefit from rehabilitation and, if so, what kind of rehabilita-
tion program will be most useful. Thus, when evaluating examination findings
of patients with cognitive impairments, the examiner must always consider the
possibility that remedial help may benefit the patient. Rehabilitation is always consi-
dered for patients with acute disorders, such as a traumatic brain injury or stroke.
For years, rehabilitation was not recommended for patients with deteriorating
disorders such as a dementia or an inoperable tumor. Today, there are rehabili-
tation specialists who provide training for some of these patients, for example,
teaching compensatory techniques, to improve attentiveness or behavioral self-
control (Rigaud et al., 2005).

Lezak, M.D., Howieson, D.B., & Loring, D.W. Montreuil M., Lezak M. (2006). La neu-
(2004). Neuropsychological assess- ropsychologie clinique. In S. Ionescu,
ment (4th ed.). New York : Oxford A. Blanchet, M. Montreuil, J. Doron,
University Press. Nouveau cours de psychologie,
222
psychologie clinique et psychopatho- en France. Dans T. Botez-Marquard

logie. Paris : PUF. et F. Boller (Eds.), Neuropsychologie
Rigaud, A.S., Hanon, O., Seux, M.-L., et clinique et neurologie du comporte-
al. (2005). Maladie d’Alzheimer, prise ment. Montréal : Presses de l’Univer-
en charge : aspects de l’expérience sité de Montréal.
D’autres thèmes de la neuropsychologie sont à découvrir dans les ressources en ligne.

Pour en savoir plus sur les tests neuropsychologiques, voir le texte électronique 63
intitulé :
Neuropsychological tests assessing constructional abilities : conceptual and
executive functions
Pour en savoir plus sur la qualité de vie et le mécanisme de coping dans la dépression
et la maladie de Parkinson, voir le texte électronique 64 et la version audio 64
intitulés :
Coping and quality of life in relation to depression and
anxiety in Parkinson’s disease
Pour en savoir plus sur les différents types d’aphasie, voir le film intitulé :
Pour en savoir plus sur les différents types d’apraxie et d’agnosie, voir le
film intitulé :
Nous vous avons proposé jusqu’alors un ensemble de textes regroupés par grands
domaines de spécialités tels qu’ils sont représentés dans la plupart des universités
en France.
Pour vous donner un aperçu des domaines de spécialité aux USA,
nous vous invitons à écouter l’Audio 65 intitulé « US Fields of speciali-
zation in Psychology ». Et nous vous proposons de l’écouter sans le texte
électronique qui l’accompagne afin que vous puissiez vous auto-évaluer

dans la compréhension orale de la langue anglaise.
Nous espérons ainsi qu’après avoir lu les textes, écouté les bandes audio et
regardé les vidéos de cet ouvrage, vous vous serez perfectionnés dans la connais-
sance de la langue de Shakespeare !
223
Chapitre 8
Réponses/Answers
Exercise 2
1-c ; 2-g ; 3-a ; 4-h ; 5-b ; 6-i ; 7-f ; 8-e ; 9-j; 10-d
Exercise 3
1) The therapeutic alliance is the affective bond established between the therapist
and the patient and the collaboration between these two partners by which
they define the objectives and tasks of the therapy.
2) The four main stages of research on the effectiveness of psychotherapies are :
phase 1/ legitimization; phase 2/ comparison; phase 3/ prescribing; and phase
4/ understanding the mechanisms of psychotherapies.
3) Successful psychotherapists use an exploratory process characterized by active
and flexible collaboration.
4) The therapeutic alliance supports the patient’s therapeutic progress through
different forms of psychotherapy.
Exercise 4
1-e ; 2-d ; 3-f ; 4-b ; 5-g ; 6-h ; 7-j ; 8-c ; 9-i; 10-a
Exercise 5
1) The negativity bias is a propensity to pay attention, be affected by, and
remember the negative events or interactions rather than the positive ones.
2) By increasing positive emotions and developing attitudes for optimal functio-
ning, Positive Psychology Interventions act against the emotional and cognitive
components of depression.
3) The goal of PPIs is to promote a more holistic outlook on the self, others, and
the environment, in which difficulties and positive aspects coexist, and to
reduce psychological distress and increase well-being.
Exercise 6
1) Analysis of dreams, slips of the tongue, mistakes and symptoms
2) The Superego
3) The phallic stage
4) Denial, dissociation, projection, idealisation, repression, humour, sublimation
5) Cathexis
Exercise 7
1) Using medication and psychotherapy.
2) OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder).
3) Repeated panic attacks constitute panic disorder.
4) Conflict between the Id’s desires and the Superego’s prohibitions.
5) Pathological fear of going out alone.
Exercise 8
1) Three to four years old.
2) People with autism generally do not demonstrate theory of mind.
3) Dogs have no TOM.
226
Réponses/Answers ■ Chapitre 8
4) Cognitive – concerning beliefs; affective – concerning emotions.

5) TOM generally disappears with the onset of schizophrenia.
Exercise 9
1) Self-compassion, compassion for others, receiving compassion from others.
2) Motivation to act in a compassionate way and compassion skills.
3) Compassion involves the willingness to actively help someone without judg-
ment, while pity is seen as condescending, carrying a pejorative judgmental
element.
4) Oxytocin.
5) Calming breathing patterns; imagery or visualization practices; mindfulness
meditation; chair work; gameplay.
Exercise 11
1) A Massively-Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game.
2) Three of : salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal symptoms,
craving, relapse.
3) A virtual world which continues after a player stops playing.
4) Jacob.
5) A virtual character representing a player in the game.
Exercise 15
1-f ; 2-c ; 3-e ; 4-g ; 5-a ; 6-d ; 7-b ; 8-h
Exercise 16
1-f ; 2-a ; 3-g ; 4-b ; 5-e ; 6-g ; 7-b ; 8-h ; 9-d ; 10-c
227
Exercise 17
1-c ; 2-f ; 3-b ; 4-g ; 5-a ; 6-h ; 7-d ; 8-I ; 9-j ; 10-e
Exercise 18
1-d ; 2-a ; 3-c ; 4-b
Exercise 19
1) One is likely to observe delays related to the development of gestures, motor
skills, language, play, and theory of mind.
2) For some researchers, the absence of gestures is linked to the delayed acquisi-
tion of language because, in the early stages of language acquisition, children
use both speech and gesture in their attempts to communicate.
3) Researchers described DS as a stasis or regression in development starting
between the ages of 15 and 27 months, following an initial period of normal
developmental progress.
4) Visually impaired children seem to show delays in the use of personal
pronouns, pronoun reversal, a “self-centred” language and a limited use of
descriptions.
5) Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
Exercise 20
1) (a) a feeling of physical and emotional exhaustion in one’s parental role ; (b)
emotional distance from the child ; (c) loss of enjoyment and fulfilment in
parenting ; (d) and the impression of no longer being a good parent.
2) Contrary to professional burnout, parents cannot take a sick leave or holidays
or quit their parental role.
3) Parental burnout increases the risk of neglectful and violent behaviors towards
a child. Burned-out parents are often emotionally unavailable to respond to
the child’s needs.
228
4) Mindfulness as a trait and practice, self-compassion, and psychosocial skills.

5) (a) The CBSM program, (b) The FOVEA program, (c) The CARE parenting
program.
Exercise 21
1) Only (d) is correct ; (a) is wrong, these properties have been found in many
estimation methods ; (b) : there was a trap here, the variance increases with
stimulus duration ; (c) : this is another property of time perception which is
called the Vierordt Effect.
2) (b) & (c) are correct ; (a) is wrong, Piaget believed that children’s temporal
abilities developed much later ; (d) is wrong; time estimates also rely on the
development of cognitive capacities.
3) (a) & (c) are correct ; (b) is wrong, it is more a definition of temporal illusion ;
(d) is wrong, it is the opposite ! Newtonian time is the idea of a continuous
and uniform time, something that children, before the age of 4, do not have.
4) All these responses are correct.
Exercise 22
1) Secure; insecure-avoidant; insecure-ambivalent; disorganised.
2) The mother.
3) Ainsworth.
4) Insecure-ambivalent.
5) A secure base from which to explore and to which to return.
Exercise 24
1) Abstraction.
2) Inability to view a situation from any point of view other than one’s own.
3) Imitation, drawing, representational activity.
4) Taking other points of view into account.
5) Conservation.
229
Exercise 25
1-c ; 2-e ; 3-b ; 4-a ; 5-d
Exercise 26
1-e ; 2-b ; 3-c ; 4-a ; 5-f ; 6-d
Exercise 27
1-d ; 2-g ; 3-i ; 4-h ; 5-a ; 6-e ; 7-b ; 8-j ; 9-f ; 10-c
Exercise 28
1-g ; 2-a ; 3-c ; 4-h ; 5-e ; 6-d ; 7-b ; 8-j ; 9-I ; 10-f
Exercise 29
1-c ; 2-f ; 3-k ; 4-I ; 5-h ; 6-d ; 7-j ; 8-b ; 9-e ; 10-g ; 11-l ; 12-a
Exercise 30
1) Because social participation requires the ability to move from home to the
community.
2) Three out of : cognitive decline, depression, health problems, use of health
services, and mortality.
3) To recognize age-related changes and their impact on driving.
230
4) A written document.
5) Australia.
Exercise 31
1-c ; 2-e ; 3-b ; 4-g ; 5-a ; 6-f ; 7-h ; 8-d
Exercise 33
1-d ; 2-c ; 3-b ; 4-f ; 5-a ; 6-e
Exercise 34
1) Lay people and experts (hepatologists).
2) To see whether knowledge about hepatitis C in the general population
improved between 1997 and 2003.
3) Nos. 3, 6, 8, 9, 10, 22, 25.
4) No.
5) Small sample of experts ; lay sample not necessarily representative ; different
people questioned in 1997 and 2003.
Exercise 35
1-d, 2-e, 3-b, 4-g, 5-c, 6-f, 7-a
Exercise 37
1-b ; 2-e ; 3-f ; 4-c ; 5-a ; 6-d
231
Exercise 40
1-c ; 2-b ; 3-d ; 4-a
Exercise 41
1) Likert scale; SDS (semantic differential scale); IAT (implicit association test).
2) The peripheral route.
3) Metacognition.
4) Affective, cognitive, behavioural.
5) Implicit.
Exercise 42
1-g ; 2-b ; 3-d ; 4-f ; 5-l ; 6-h ; 7-e ; 8-I ; 9-k ; 10-m ; 11-a ; 12-n ; 13-c ; 14-j
Exercise 46
1) The cognitive disruption model.
2) MacAndrew and Egerton.
3) The amount thought to have been consumed, according to Bègue et al. (2009).
4) Efficient.
5) Decrease (and to increase dispositional attributions).
Exercise 47
1) Territory.
2) A space whose control is shared within a community.
3) Because people do not feel personally responsible for the environment, or
capable of resolving its problems.
232
4) Individual and family.

5) Living in a city is stressful ; green spaces reduce stress and improve health.
Exercise 49
1) The paradigmatic attitude.
2) 11 years old.
3) Broca’s aphasia.
4) False. This is more likely when they are among people with whom they are
unpopular.
5) Its interlocutory (communicative) aspects.
Exercise 50
1-c ; 2-d ; 3-a ; 4-b
Exercise 52
1-k ; 2-b ; 3-h ; 4-a ; 5-j ; 6-f ; 7-g ; 8-d ; 9-i ; 10-e ; 11-c
Exercise 55
1) The dominant criterion is personal fulfilment.

2) Rational choice theory doesn’t account for choices that are made due to situa-
tional factors or which are context-dependent. Factors like emotional state,
social context, environmental factors and the way choices are posed to the
individual may result in decisions that don’t align with rational choice theory
assumptions.
3) According to Cohen-Scali, Pouyaud and Guichard (2021), “The life designing
counseling dialogues and the career construction interview are counseling
interventions aimed at helping clients construct meaningful expectations
233
for their future active lives. These methods are based on a constructionist
epistemology which considers the self in terms of personal narratives aimed
at unifying, from the point of view of certain future expectations, the life
experiences that have been deemed significant. The life design counseling
dialogues represent a model of subjectivity which operates as a dynamic system
of subjective identity forms, anchored in the system of cognitive identity
frames relevant in a certain societal context”.
4) When the measures proposed for job seekers are directed towards the indivi-
dual and their specific characteristics, the former can be exposed to stereotype
threat, which refers to the risk of confirming negative stereotypes about one’s
abilities.
5) The author suggests developing occupational integration systems that balance
self-knowledge, situational awareness, and job opportunities.
Exercise 56
1) Up to six months.
2) No; the early symptoms such as fatigue are easy to miss.
3) Cynicism/depersonalization.
4) Distal.
5) Emotional; informational; appraisal; instrumental.
Exercise 57
1) Because their job, and people’s expectations of them, are broad and ill-defined.
2) Person-role conflict.
3) Inter-sender conflict.
4) Occurs when the cumulative demands of a person’s role exceed his/her ability
to perform the task.
5) Because role ambiguity causes stress, low commitment to the organisation,
and an increased tendency to leave.
234
Exercise 59
1-c ; 2-d ; 3-e ; 4-a ; 5-b ; 6-f ; 7-g ; 8-i ; 9-h
Exercise 60
1) The brain; the spinal cord; the nerves.
2) Freezing.
3) The tongue and part of the face.
4) It has no pain receptors.
5) By implanting electrodes in the basal ganglia.
Exercise 61
1) Anxiety, irritability, agitation, tremors.
2) Tearfulness.
3) Two or three
4) Negative.
5) The Ventral Tegmental Area, a structure of the brain involved in dopamine
release.
Exercise 63
1-c ; 2-a ; 3-d ; 4-b ; 5-f ; 6-e
235

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François-Xavier CÉCILLON Chercheur associé à l’Université Lumière – Lyon 2.

Romain DUGRAVIER Pédopsychiatre à l’hôpital Saint-Anne de Paris.

María Teresa MUÑOZ SASTRE Professeur à l’Université Toulouse 2-Jean Jaurès.

Jean-François VERLHIAC Professeur à l’Université Paris-Nanterre.

C  – P   /

12. Obesity and body image (Audio 12) (Aurélie Docteur)

C  – P  /

C  – P   /H  ...................... 103

26. Health and cognition (Jean-François Verlhiac) ..................................................... 110

C  – P /S .................................... 133

36. Prosocial behavior (Film 2) (Lubomir Lamy) ................................................. 139

C  – P /C ................... 179

53. Do categories for odors exist? The contribution of categorization

C  – P    /

C  – N/N.......................................... 209

(Philippe Arvers) ............................................................................................................................. 215

64. Coping and quality of life in relation to depression

C  – R/A .............................................................................................. 225

Connectez-vous à la page de l’ouvrage (grâce aux menus déroulants, ou en saisissant

Films, textes électroniques et textes audio

Film 7 : Sexist language and cognition (11’43)*

Film 13 : Gestalt theory : laws of perceptual organization (4’35)*

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Texte 33 : Relationship between smoking and perceived risk of lung cancer

Ce manuel est destiné aux étudiants de psychologie et à leurs enseignants

• des vidéos de cours filmés et des expériences de psychologie à voir et à repro-

Présentation des textes écrits et des textes audio

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Les textes sont accompagnés d’exercices de compréhension

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Présentation des films

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Les films sont classés par niveaux de difficulté

Niveau 3 : « confirmé », indiqué par le sigle ***

Je remercie Christina Cosmos, Agathe Brochard, Sabine Guéraud, Marine

Textes électroniques à retrouver dans les ressources en ligne :

Clinical psychologists work to understand, prevent, and treat psychological

1) From theory to practice

behavioral psychotherapy, systemic psychotherapy, body therapies (bioenergy,

1) It is Franz Alexander, a renowned psychoanalyst, who first emphasized the

omnipresence of verbal conditioning. Analyzing in turn an interview conducted

the therapeutic working alliance have their origin in psychoanalytic theory, but

Selective references for further reading

2) Development of psychotherapeutic practices :

the diverse methods of therapeutic care would emerge : the number of therapies

Emergence of eclectic and integration psychotherapy

to a common set of principles since an eclectic approach is based on differences

an extremely flexible approach which does not attempt to integrate a particular

The “prescriptive” eclecticism movement, on the other hand, in dissociating

opening of different schools of thought to the conceptual criticisms leveled at them

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3) The therapeutic alliance :

The common factors paradigm

competencies of these therapists include skill in the use of therapeutic techniques,

The processes at work in therapeutic alliance

Health Authority to treat disorders. A good quality therapeutic alliance increases

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4) Positive psychology : an introduction

of several scientific associations (International Positive Psychology Association,

The goal of positive psychology

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The first and second topologies

Transference and counter-transference

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