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The self is a crucial component of the psychic life and plays a central role for the adaptation to the environment. In daily life, this adaptative function is ensured, inter alia, by numerous biases filtering information and favoring those which are self-related. After succinctly reviewing the most documented among them which are affective and mnesic biases, the current paper provides a critical review of literature about a bias which is supposed to be perceptive, the self-prioritization effect (SPE). That has been revealed by Sui et al. (2012, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 38(5), 1105) with an astute matching task and consists in the fact that arbitrarily tagging shapes to a word referring to the participant (e.g., you--square) leads to faster and more accurate responses as compared to shapes tagged to a word referring to another identity (e.g., strange--circle). The methodological variations of this task and the SPE's both extension and putative origins will be presented, as well as the restrictions which border it, related to the individuals, to the experimental situation and to some more general properties of the self. Finally, some avenues for future research will be proposed, drawing some promising paths: beyond being a robust and intriguing phenomenon, SPE can indeed be considered as a convenient tool to assess some mechanisms underlying social cognition, in various fields using an experimental approach such as developmental psychology and social psychology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the face of the multitude of academic curricula offered to young bachelors who knock on the doors of Cameroonian universities, the reality is however the reality of a crisis of orientation. At this stage, many people do not know which route to take, and even more so are those who are experimenting or whose choices are based on their peers and predecessors. Based on a literature search and data collection, the present scientific contribution offers a constructivist and strategic reading of the mechanisms leading to the choice of an academic discipline in Cameroonian university. As a result, in the choice of an academic course, the social logic resulting from the socio-cultural representations that take place in the social environment of young graduates is being implemented, or the strategic choices of the latter. This is how they integrate diverse social perceptions as well as their interest in school, in this case success, prestige, employability facilities, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to present the results of a content analysis of 1149 comments made by young internet users in response to 29 journalistic articles published by media outlets on the web. These comments (expressions of anger, cynical comments, explanation of clandestine migrations causes, etc), written spontaneously and anonymously, are a relevant way to explore all sorts of explanations, representations and different types of collective thoughts recorded in the socio-cognitive history of Algerian society. It can also play the role of a meta-system to a supposed social representation of clandestine migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Social cognition, which refers to how people think about themselves and others in the social world, is a core component for social, professional and interpersonal functioning and is commonly impaired in schizophrenia. This cognitive domain has strong associations with daily activities and could act as a link between social functioning and neurocognition. Two primary domains of social cognition: theory of mind and emotions perception have been studied for long and many arguments highlighted the direct relationship between impairments of these processes and the alteration of functional outcomes in schizophrenia. During the past 15years, researchers are interested in social cognition and developed, in the field of cognitive remediation, some therapeutic approaches with the aim of reducing difficulties and handicaps. The first programs were supported by the assumption that the improvement of neurocognition was necessary before enhancing social cognition. At the same time, other authors hypothesized that it is possible to improve the performance of people with schizophrenia by directly targeting impaired functions, and so developed specific programs. More recently, researchers intend to develop global programs that take into account all components of social cognition impaired in schizophrenia in order to improve functional outcomes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Social cognition is described as the processes underlying interpersonal relationships. The crucial role of these processes in rehabilitation, especially in adult psychiatry, has raised needs of clinical assessment in this particular cognitive domain. However, social cognition is a multidimensional construct which has been studied in numerous recent international researches. This review is aimed at inventorying available tools in French language for social cognition assessment in adults, and at drawing recommendation for practice in clinical neuropsychology. Results show that despite the lack of available tools, the assessment of social cognition is feasible in several dimensions, such as facial emotion recognition, theory of mind, alexithymia and emotional awareness. Each of the identified tools has specific benefits and limits that delimitate their potential usefulness. Globally, the incomplete validation of tools, as well as their heterogeneity and their multidetermination should lead to some caution when assessing performances and interpreting results. However, when crossing assessments and controlling for basic neurocognitive difficulties, the identified tools can provide detailed information about each patient''s social cognition profile. Studies remain necessary to further validate existing tools and to allow more reliable and diversified assessment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: It is now well-recognized that cognitive dysfonctions contribute to a decisive way to the difficulties of the everyday, social and professional life of the people with schizophrenia. The cognitive variables would explain between 16 and 30% of the variance in the functional status when assessed one to three and a half years later. However, the specificity of the complex relationships between the cognitive domains and the functional variables still remains to be identified. To this end, it is necessary to carry out studies by respecting various principles: selecting not multi-determined cognitive tasks; investigating specific daily-life tasks (e.g. shopping, choosing a menu, preparing a meal), in particular by an observation in real situation in order to identify the problematic components; this has to be made by determining a priori hypotheses regarding the cognitive nature of the difficulties; taking into account the heterogeneity of the cognitive deficits and the functional difficulties of people with schizophrenia. It also remains to investigate the presence of mediator variables of the relationships, such as the potential of learning, the social cognition, the metacognitive processes and the intrinsic motivation. Besides, other personal or environmental factors can also play a role in the functional status, as for example, the negative symptoms, the awareness that has the person of his(her) state and its consequences, or the critical attitude of relatives towards the person with schizophrenia. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Societal changes permeate our perceptions of adolescence and lead to a reading disorder psychodynamic adolescent, constantly at work. In light of the history of child psychiatry, we hypothesize that these changes are necessarily accompanied by an evolution of care devices to respond to new forms of expression issues, if not to new problems. Starting from this premise, we argue that creating Maison des adolescents is a response congruent with clinical practice that illustrates, also, some aspects of societal change. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Autism is characterized by major difficulties in the social interaction and communication domains. Recent studies suggest that deficits in social information processing could contribute to the expression of autistic traits, as regards communication and socialization skills. The objective of our study with children and adolescents manifesting autistic traits is to examine the characteristics of visual information processing whilst viewing social scenes, in order to evaluate the relationship between autistic trait expression and deficits in processing socially salient information. Our results suggest that children and adolescents presenting autistic traits show patterns of visual processing of social information that are comparable to those observed in adults with autism. These results are discussed from the standpoint of developmental cognitive psychopathology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Today, bringing psychoanalysis and neurosciences together is necessary in order to expose neuroscience to an original and nonsimplistic perspective on the complexity of mental life; and necessary for psychoanalysis, which runs the risk of becoming the theory of a clinical practice, which could be cut off from contemporary scientific context. Three research perspectives therefore present themselves. First, the study by the neurosciences of the psychoanalytical process itself, as an exemplary model of empathy: psychic coactivity, mutual reactions and shared activity, at the cerebral and cognitive level. But also the study of the therapeutic process: the cerebral and psychic organisational changes induced in the brain by this coactivity. It is the neuroscience or neuropsychology of psychoanalysis. Second, the contribution of psychoanalytical theory (psychoanalytical psychology) to the understanding of the inter- and cosubjective processes in a scientific and multidisciplinary framework (including clinical theory, neurosciences and notably the developmental psychology). Finally, the study of the pathologies of empathy or of intersubjectivity, like autism and schizophrenia. In this way, intersubjectivity can bring together the two methodologies and the two sciences of mind – psychoanalysis and neurosciences, which it drove apart until the recent past. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Lived experiences mentioned by patients with schizophrenia can be addressed with neurocognitive models. In particular, these models allow us to better understand self-consciousness and social cognition impairment that is a core feature of schizophrenia. Abnormal brain functioning related to this impairment has been shown. These data show that these symptoms are related to specific neurocognitive correlates. They shed a new light on the understanding of schizophrenic symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Taking a dimensional stance helps overcome the current debate on the utility and clinical validity of the diagnostic categories of disruptive behavior and conduct disorders in children and adolescents. This integrative perspective highlights the pivotal role that impairments in empathy processes are playing in conduct disturbances. The capacity for empathy encompasses three components: procedural, semantic and biographic. Both empirical and psychoanalysis studies confirm the association between empathy impairments and antisocial behaviours in children and adolescents. Neuroimaging, neuropsychological and social cognition studies, mainly conducted in adults, delineate some of the neural correlates of the empathy disturbances. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Impairments in facial affect recognition have been well-established in schizophrenia. Programs of cognitive remediation specifically aiming at correcting these deficiencies are being developed. This paper reviews these programs’ results, and presents a critical perspective on the connections between cognitive remediation and social cognition. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Performances in social abilities of everyday life were studied in children with specific language impairment or PDD (pervasive developmental disorders). Comparison was made with normal children, children with intellectual deficiencies and dyslexic children. Results concerning children with language impairment confirm a relationship exists between language abilities and social cognition abilities, development of theory of mind being likely to go along with the development of language. The second objective is to establish normative values for the EASE scale. Hence, 327 normal children of various ages were tested. Results show a significant effect of age on mentalization development and results confirm that this ability is acquired between three and five years old. Normative values have been thus established. This study may allow to propose the EASE scale as a tool to help diagnosis, in particular to help make differential diagnosis of pathologies leading to troubles of language and personality in young children, such as “PDD” (atypic autism among others) and “SLI”, as well as to have clinical tools which enable to make a diagnosis in younger children. The EASE scale therefore presents greatest importance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Bringing to light cognitive disorders and neurofunctional patterns that are specific of mental illnesses should result in a new way to define and assess clinical signs. The recent advances in social cognition contribute to a better understanding of the clinical dimensions of schizophrenia. The cerebral patterns of activation associated with several components of the mental processes underpinning social behavior, mentalizing and communication have been determined using neuroimaging techniques. Here, we will focus on the attribution of mental states to others that involves particularly the medial prefrontal cortex within a complex network of brain regions. We hypothesize that this mental activity is a key feature of human communication. Experimental evidences show that schizophrenic patients having formal thought disorders exhibit impaired performances on mentalizing tasks. We argue that psychiatric assessment constitutes a communication situation that is appropriate to elicit such disorders. Following Hardy-Baylé et al. proposal, we show that it is possible to define efficient means to assess schizophrenic communication disorders by imposing specific conversational constraints to the patients during clinical interviews. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

L'article examine l'histoire des perceptions négatives des peuples Arabe et musulman par les Espagnols pendant le XXIème siècle. En particulier, l'auteur explore les stéréotypes à propos des Marocains pendant cette période. L'influence de la politique espagnole sur les perceptions des Marocains est également exploré.

Race, class, and gender are social, political, economic, and cultural constructs that describe the positionalities of people. How these constructs are defined depends on the status occupied by individuals and the individual, institutional, and societal status of the individuals who have the power to construct hierarchies. The authors examine the intersection of race, class, and gender and the dimensions of oppression and discrimination in counseling. Historical and contemporary dimensions of racism, misogyny, and classism are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The law of February 11th, 2005 for “The equality of rights and chances, the participation and the citizenship of disabled persons” has substantially modified society''s perception of the disabled. A fundamentally “social” law, it does not establish its logic on the medical and clinical aspects of the handicap, but on its functional and social consequences for the person. The principles of nondiscrimination, accessibility, consideration of the environment, and the compensation of the consequences of the handicap are the key words. Some of its measures question the privileged, even exclusive, place that has been granted up till now to the medical and social establishments welcoming handicapped children, for the implementation of their schooling, their education and care. The services of the Ministry of Education and the personalized project of schooling, as well as the life in the family place of residence thus tend to become the pivots around which establishments and medical and social services and the project of care have to articulate. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]