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Within the last 50 years, the UK has moved from prosecuting male homosexuality to identifying sexual orientation as a protected characteristic. There have been differing explanations for how this change has occurred. In the present study, we investigate how this political and moral change is understood by those who witnessed it, with the aim of gaining new insight into this change process. We elicited accounts from 25 heterosexual UK residents over the age of 65 years. First, we conducted individual semi-structured interviews with 21 participants. Second, we used a memory work method. Specifically, a group of four participants met four times with one of the researchers to share and discuss memories relevant to the research question. The analytic process aimed to reconstruct and make sense of the participants' theorisations based on a thematic reading of the transcripts. Contact with LGBTQ people and increased awareness through the media were construed as central to the shift in societal homophobia. Participants remembered contact with LGBTQ people mediated by friends and family members but accounts show a complex understanding of social change that includes but also transcends direct personal experience and extant psychological theorising. Overall, this was a fragmented story of changing social norms, albeit one embedded within a canonical narrative of tolerance, decency and fairness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores contemporary understandings and representations of the penis. It presents an overview of recent trends which re-frame long-standing penile anxieties within a new hybrid world of health and [...]

Drawing from arguments within sexuality/gender studies, I argue that we need to move away from the rigid binary thinking and ideological blindness that pervades much contemporary politics, and be more 'queer', if you will. To this end, we need to move beyond a focus predominantly on critique and recognise the need for both tradition and critique within citizenship studies itself and societal politics more generally. I argue that we need to move beyond narratives that are (deliberately, or not) founded on an exclusionary logic that divides and instead better recognize the need for – and power of – tradition in a dialectical relationship with critique. This is a serious challenge but one that may be best achieved through a transformative politics of justice, generosity, and forgiveness, where we work through painful histories such that we can engage the Other in a spirit of hospitality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To purchase or authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2007.00242.x Byline: Darren Langdridge (a1), Paschal Sheeran (b), Kevin J. Connolly (b) Abstract: This study examined the convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity of several variables proposed to augment the theory of reasoned action (TRA), using both principal components analysis (PCA)/multiple regression and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA)/structural equation modeling (SEM) among a sample of the UK population regarding their intention to have a child. PCA revealed good convergent and discriminant validity for attitude vs. anticipated regret, subjective norm vs. moral norm vs. social relations, but not for intention vs. desire or perceived behavioral control. Multiple regression analyses showed that the additional variables predicted a significant increment in the variance in intention. CFA, however, showed moderate convergent validity and poor discriminant validity and the structural model comprised the 2 predictors from the TRA only. Author Affiliation: (a)The Open UniversityMilton Keynes, United Kingdom (b)University of SheffieldSheffield, United Kingdom Article note: (1) Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Darren Langdridge, Psychology Discipline, Faculty of Social Sciences, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA UK. E-mail: d.langdridge@open.ac.uk

Gay affirmative therapy (GAT) has recently emerged in an attempt to rectify previously discriminatory psychotherapeutic practice with lesbians, bisexuals and gay men. GAT aims to achieve this by providing a framework for practice which is affirmative of lesbian, gay and bisexual identities. This 'positive framework' is clearly challenging for psychotherapies which seek to avoid imposing specific expectations on their clients, and a number of humanistic and existential psychotherapists have challenged the applicability of such a framework for their practice. This paper examines these arguments and suggests that Ricoeur's formulation of hermeneutic phenomenology may provide a solution. It is argued that incorporating a version of a hermeneutic of suspicion and critique of the illusions of the subject into psychotherapeutic practice would enable therapists to recognise and work with the twin impact of the psychotherapist and social world on the construction of a client's sexual identity. KEYWORDS. Bisexual, ethics, existential psychotherapy, gay affirmative therapy, hermeneutic phenomenology, homosexuality, humanistic psychotherapy, lesbian, Ricoeur, subjectivity

A common criticism of phenomenological methods has been that there is a singular focus on individual experience at the cost of broader group level phenomena. In contrast, psychoanalytically informed psychosocial methods have continued to develop novel ways of exploring group level material. A notable recent methodology is the visual matrix method (Froggett, Manley & Roy 2015), an innovative methodological development that draws on ideas from social dreaming (Lawrence 2003, 2005). In this article, we describe the development and application of a group level existential-phenomenological method, inspired by the visual matrix method. In collaboration with a filmmaker, we produced a film series designed to engage the public with research findings on "enduring love." The viewing experience was explored using a modified version of the visual matrix method. We discuss the value of this methodological development for research within the phenomenological tradition as well as potential tensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Increasing appropriate HIV testing among men who have sex with men (MSM) is crucial to HIV prevention. Mass media interventions are effective in promoting testing, but to date, there has been little examination of their active content. Design: We conducted a qualitative analysis of intervention materials (n = 69) derived from a systematic review of mass media interventions designed to improve testing with MSM. Methods: Visual data were analysed for their affective and ideological content using a novel method drawing on concepts from semiotics (i.e., broadly speaking, the analysis of signs). Results: Whilst affect was not explicitly theorized or examined in any of the studies, there are clearly identifiable affective elements implicitly at play in these interventions. Four thematic categories of affect/ideology were identified including (1) sexual desire and the 'pornographication' of the gay/bisexual male subject; (2) narratives of romance and love; (3) fear, threat, and regret; and (4) 'flattened' affect. Conclusions: This is the first study to examine and detail the affective and ideological aspects of intervention content in this field. Using analytic techniques such as those reported here, in addition to approaches that focus on the manner in which intervention content address more proximal determinants of behaviour, can provide a rich and potentially more useful evidence base to assist with future interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article we explore the history, culture and practice of the phenomenon known as 'puppy play'. Puppy play is a practice in which people take on the persona of a dog (or handler), with participants often wearing specialist gear to further enhance the experience of being a puppy. We argue that puppy play is best understood sociologically as a 'postmodern-subculture' (Greener and Hollands, 2006). Additionally, we use Irwin's (1973) model of scene evolution to explore the socio-history of the community. Whilst this practice appears to have its historical roots within the highly sexual gay leatherman subculture, there is a division within this community between sexual and social play, with some participants eschewing the sexual entirely. We explore possible reasons for this split through an analysis using recent political theory concerning technologies of the self, sexual citizenship and BDSM. Through this analysis we contribute valuable empirical evidence to debates and discussion about the development of sexual subcultures and tensions therein concerning claims for rights and the 'politics of respectability' (Cruz, 2016a, 2016b). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and queer (LGBQ) individuals face well-known difficulties, ranging from slurs to legal exclusion and homophobic hate crimes. However, LGBQ individuals and communities often thrive. Thriving under adverse conditions is understood by psychology through the lens of resilience, i.e., one's ability to 'bounce back' after being faced with hardship. In this paper, we perform a thematic meta-synthesis of narrative studies on LGBQ resilience. Specifically, we have retrieved and performed thematic meta-analysis on 21 studies published over the last 20 years. The examination of this literature highlights the relational nature of resilience in extant research on this population. More precisely, we show that the same entities, such as family and peers, are often sources of resilience and hardship at the same time; that many LGBQ people experience hardship early in their lives, and thus cannot 'bounce back' to a previous positive state; and that extant psychological understandings of resilience are too individualistic for a field that needs to focus more on communities and relationships. We argue for the need to consider relational and community creativity, innovation and growth in understanding LGBQ resilience and not just the capacity of an individual to sustain themselves in the face of adversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need for social as well as academic impact in social science research is now well established. Art is increasingly being explored as a means of generating social impact, most commonly as a way to engage publics with research findings, but to date with little exploration of the process of engagement itself. In this study, we set out to explore the power of art to engage the public. We do this by examining the 'affective' experience of engagement through a qualitative investigation using one-to-one interviews and a modified visual matrix exercise. In this article we report on the findings from our analysis of the affective experience of watching a film series, and through this discuss the use of film to communicate research findings and value of a novel qualitative psychosocial methodology for exploring the process of public engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: In an innovative approach to improve the contribution of health psychology to public health we have analysed the presence and nature of affect within the visual materials deployed in antimicrobial stewardship interventions targeting the public identified through systematic review.Design: A qualitative analysis focused on the affective content of visual materials garnered from a systematic review of antibiotic stewardship (k = 20).Methods: A novel method was devised drawing on concepts from semiotics to analyse the affective elements within intervention materials.Results: Whilst all studies examined tacitly rely on affect, only one sought to explicitly deploy affect. Three thematic categories of affect are identified within the materials in which specific ideological machinery is deployed: (1) monsters, bugs, and superheroes; (2) responsibility, threat, and the misuse/abuse of antibiotics; (3) the figure of the child.Conclusions: The study demonstrates how affect is a present but tacit communication strategy of antimicrobial stewardship interventions but has not - to date - been adequately theorized or explicitly considered in the intervention design process. Certain affective features were explored in relation to the effectiveness of antimicrobial resistance interventions and warrant further investigation. We argue that further research is needed to systematically illuminate and capitalize upon the use of affect to effect behaviour change concerning antimicrobial stewardship. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? The (mis)use of antibiotics and consequent risk of antimicrobial resistance is a critical public health problem. If sufficient action is not taken, global society will face the 'post-antibiotic' era, in which common infections will lead to death for many millions. Key desirable behavioural changes are decreased patient demands for antibiotics, use of them for targeted purposes alone, and compliance with prescribed dosing. There is a growth of interest in the role of affect in mass media interventions designed to engage publics and produce health-related behavioural change. What does this study add? This article presents a novel analytic approach to understanding and intervening within behaviour change in public health that may complement other types of analysis. We present findings specifically from an 'affective' analysis based on semiotics in which we critically interrogated the visual imagery being deployed in mass media public health interventions concerning antimicrobial stewardship. Three thematic categories of affect are identified within the materials in which specific ideological machinery is deployed and that demonstrate some association with intervention effectiveness worthy of further investigation and testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Changing public awareness of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) represents a global public health priority. A systematic review of interventions that targeted public AMR awareness and associated behaviour was previously conducted. Here, we focus on identifying the active content of these interventions and explore potential mechanisms of action.Methods: The project took a novel approach to intervention mapping utilizing the following steps: (1) an exploration of explicit and tacit theory and theoretical constructs within the interventions using the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDFv2), (2) retrospective coding of behaviour change techniques (BCTs) using the BCT Taxonomy v1, and (3) an investigation of coherent links between the TDF domains and BCTs across the interventions.Results: Of 20 studies included, only four reported an explicit theoretical basis to their intervention. However, TDF analysis revealed that nine of the 14 TDF domains were utilized, most commonly 'Knowledge' and 'Environmental context and resources'. The BCT analysis showed that all interventions contained at least one BCT, and 14 of 93 (15%) BCTs were coded, most commonly 'Information about health consequences', 'Credible source', and 'Instruction on how to perform the behaviour'.Conclusions: We identified nine relevant TDF domains and 14 BCTs used in these interventions. Only 15% of BCTs have been applied in AMR interventions thus providing a clear opportunity for the development of novel interventions in this context. This methodological approach provides a useful way of retrospectively mapping theoretical constructs and BCTs when reviewing studies that provide limited information on theory and intervention content. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Evidence of the effectiveness of interventions that target the public to engage them with AMR is mixed; the public continue to show poor knowledge and misperceptions of AMR. Little is known about the common, active ingredients of AMR interventions targeting the public and information on explicit theoretical content is sparse. Information on the components of AMR public health interventions is urgently needed to enable the design of effective interventions to engage the public with AMR stewardship behaviour. What does this study add? The analysis shows very few studies reported any explicit theoretical basis to the interventions they described. Many interventions share common components, including core mechanisms of action and behaviour change techniques. The analysis suggests components of future interventions to engage the public with AMR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been - and continues to be - a tension within the political strategies of sexual minority communities claiming citizenship. Whilst attempting to forge a political self-determination based on being (dissident) sexual subjects, members of sexually diverse communities have frequently engaged in political practices that normalize their diversity to accord with wider socio-cultural conventions. In this article, we address this issue in relation to the political strategies of one of the most marginalized sexual identities/practices: BDSM. By drawing on the work of Foucault, Rose, Rabinow and Bahktin, we advance a case for how it may be possible for dissident sexual communities to resist the normalizing effects of citizenship whilst still making claims for legal recognition and wider social acknowledgment. Key to the argument is the theorization of a position wherein carnival transgression operates within a dialectical integration of ideology and utopia as a mode of citizenship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A global antimicrobial resistance (AMR) awareness intervention targeting the general public has been prioritized.Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of interventions that aim to change AMR awareness and subsequent stewardship behaviours amongst the public.Methods: Five databases were searched between 2000 and 2016 for interventions to change the public's AMR awareness and/or antimicrobial stewardship behaviours. Study designs meeting the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organization of Care (EPOC) criteria, non-controlled before-and-after studies and prospective cohort studies were considered eligible. Participants recruited from healthcare settings and studies measuring stewardship behaviours of healthcare professionals were excluded. Quality of studies was assessed using EPOC risk of bias criteria. Data were extracted and synthesized narratively. Registration: PROSPERO international prospective register of systematic reviews (PROSPERO 2016: CRD42016050343).Results: Twenty studies were included in the review with nine meeting the EPOC criteria. The overall risk of bias was high. Nineteen studies were conducted in high-income countries. Mass media interventions were most common (n = 7), followed by school-based (n = 6) and printed material interventions (n = 6). Seventeen studies demonstrated a significant effect on changing knowledge, attitudes or the public's antimicrobial stewardship behaviours. Analysis showed that interventions targeting schoolchildren and parents have notable potential, but for the general public the picture is less clear.Conclusions: Our work provides an in-depth examination of the effectiveness of AMR interventions for the public. However, the studies were heterogeneous and the quality of evidence was poor. Well-designed, experimental studies on behavioural outcomes of such interventions are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, BDSM communities have engaged in a political struggle for rights by separating their practices from the oppressive gaze of legal and medical praxis, seeking to legitimize BDSM discourse and actions under the slogan of ‘safe, sane and consensual’. The espousal of principles governed primarily by health and safety nonetheless carries a normalizing overtone, apparently trapping the community within the epistemic codes against which they struggle. This article suggests that the security mechanism Foucault identifies as forming part of biopower can serve as a critical analytic capable of arbitrating between BDSM as a form of political resistance to hegemonic sexual norms and the restraints imposed by the ‘safe, sane and consensual’ code itself. We argue that communities using health and safety codes shift the political struggle from direct resistance to sovereign power to the transgression of hegemonic regimes of truth through contingent sexual identification and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I explore the experience of recovery from a heart attack through an analytic autoethnography. I discuss the tensions inherent in biomedical subjectivities of health and ill-health during cardiac recovery through three key themes: (a) the transfer of responsibility and becoming a subject “at risk,” (b) technologies of biomedicine and the disciplining of subjectivities, and (c) the transformation of a body toward a new pharmaceuticalized bodily normal. Through an analysis driven by the biomedicalization thesis of Clarke, alongside work on biopower and the governmentality of health by Foucault, Rose, and Rabinow, I seek to provide new insights into the process of cardiac recovery and the relationship between individual experience and broader socio-political processes. Key to this analysis is a focus on the contingent subjectivities brought into being through biomedicalization that constitute a new form of health citizenship that is otherwise not accounted for in narratives of recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the ways in which a divided self may be actively cultivated for thrill in sadomasochistic scenes. In The Divided Self, Laing (1959/1990) presented an existential theory of schizophrenia and personal alienation describing a process where there is a separation of self/body amongst the ontologically insecure outsider. Whilst Laing's theory concerns an experience of deep despair, van Deurzen-Smith (1991) argues that the theory should be reconceptualised as a way of understanding the existential anxiety common to all human experience rather than just the extreme experience of psychosis. In this paper I draw on some of Laing's ideas to look at the way in which the splits between the self/body might be deliberately cultivated during sadomasochistic sex scenes amongst ontologically secure individuals. In addition, I explore the ways in which 'petrification' (Laing, 1959/1990) and 'the look' (Sartre, 1943/2003) might also be key parts of the sadomasochistic experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Edelman's new ethics of queer theory is focussed on the all-pervasive image of the child, which he argues provides the foundation for the hegemonic politics of ‘reproductive futurism’ (L. Edelman, 2004.No future: queer theory and the death drive. Durham, NC: Duke University Press). His searing criticism raises important questions for sexual citizenship, and particularly for the gay parent as citizen. Edelman's argument that queers should abandon accommodation and instead embrace their position as the figure of negativity offers a challenge to all those gay men that seek to be fathers. In this article, I critically engage with Edelman's arguments and explore the implications of a queer rejection of reproductive futurism and parental privilege through an empirical investigation of young gay men's stories about the possibility of becoming fathers. I argue that whilst Edelman's uncompromising stance serves to open a space for gay men embracing thejouissancethat is increasingly being abandoned through an assimilationist desire for citizenship, it also, more problematically, closes down possibilities for gay men and thus further reinforces present inequalities in citizenship. Is negativity the only option in the face of the onslaught of reproductive futurism or might there be a dialectical solution that is at once radically queer but also reflective of the variety of claims for sexual citizenship? [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this article we aim to contribute to psychosocial debates around selfhood by focusing empirically upon memories of jealousy and the ways in which potential subjectivities are both opened up and closed down. The paper presents a phenomenological narrative analysis of our research on jealousy produced through a memory work group. We identify three types of jealous memories (real, virtual and in-between) and elucidate the narrative structure of jealous experiencing. Memories of jealousy invariably involved some anticipatory context in which the actors engaged with potential subjectivities, which were then disrupted when the physical or psychological presence of another became apparent, triggering powerful embodied feelings. We argue that much of the power of jealousy comes from the way in which it is ambiguous and anxiety provoking as a result of a challenge to perceived subjectivities. Our findings are discussed in relation to extant mainstream literature on jealousy and critical theories of subjectivity, embodiment and relationality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As Victorian asylums closed down in the United Kingdom, community mental health services were set up to support patients in exercising choice and freedom; in finding a place in society. The success of these services has been questioned, so further policies have been introduced in an effort to protect rights and improve social inclusion. However, capacity to make decisions has been interpreted as no more than a process of rational mental calculation. This article reports on a phenomenological study that explores the decision-making experiences of three men who have endured psychosis. It is not only associated with choice and freedom but also with responsibility, blame, and social exclusion. These men appear to have faced common existential dilemmas, but have sought to express emotional will in conflict with other people and have, perhaps, been placed under more social pressure and become more isolated as individuals, while enduring experiences that are difficult to make meaningful for others. It seems that, paradoxically, efforts have been made to empower these men by controlling them, and medication has been imposed on them so as to regulate thoughts and moods, in attempts to serve their best interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a scarcity of research on men's experience of bereavement (Reiniche, 2006), particularly in relation to qualitative research that focuses on the meaning of such an experience. This paper seeks to address this scarcity by presenting the findings from a phenomenological study of the lifeworlds of a small number of bereaved men. The study looked specifically at how the loss of a spouse influences men's experience of meaning, grief and loss. Three men aged between 32 and 54 years old who had all lost their partners to cancer between 3 and 7 years ago were interviewed. The hermeneutic phenomenological method of Van Manen (1990) was used to uncover three key themes, labelled grief and self-reflection, meaning of life and loss, and refiguring the life-world. These themes are discussed in the light of broader existential concerns and the extant literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last decade has seen an explosion of interest in consensually non-monogamous relationships. This article critically reviews current research and theory in this area, focusing particularly on polyamory, swinging, and gay open relationships. The sociohistorical context in which these forms of relating emerged is considered and discussed in order to better understand why there has been such a significant increase in scholarly work on non-monogamies at this moment. Furthermore, we categorize the extant literature into two groups, ‘celebratory’ and ‘critical’, and argue that such polarization frequently works to reinforce partial and dichotomizing understandings of the topic. Research so far has primarily concentrated on the rules and boundaries which people employ to manage such relationships and we contend that future work needs to pay more attention to diversities of meanings and practices, intersections with other identities and communities, and the troubling of dichotomous understandings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the issue of bisexuality as a silenced sexuality which is frequently erased or depicted invisible in favour of a homosexual and heterosexual binary. Bisexuality is recognized as a silenced sexuality within the domains of mainstream media, lesbian and gay, communities, sexology and psychology and psychotherapy. It is stated that the exclusion of bisexual identities is reproduced and upheld in the discipline of psychology with the tendency to regard sexuality as dichotomous. Moreover, psychological research that filters into popular culture inclines dichotomizing biological explanations and erasure of bisexuality.

This paper describes an experiment in carrying out, as a group, a phenomenological analysis of a qualitative interview on the topic of mistrust. One in-depth interview was analyzed phenomenologically by each of the six members of our group. We then shared and discussed our individual analyses to generate a consensual analysis. Finally, additional or divergent perspectives were offered by individual group members to add further contextual and reflexive dimensions. We consider what we gained from this exercise and the difficulties encountered. We also reflect on the insights into the topic of mistrust produced by our analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years we have witnessed a number of new developments in social psychology that set out to offer an alternative to the dominant social cognitive paradigm. Whilst there is undoubtedly growing interest in these alternatives, they have not had the impact that many might have hoped. In this paper, I outline Paul Ricoeur's work on the social imaginary, ideology and utopia, and use this as a critical hermeneutic to understand the failure of 'new movements' within social psychology to move the discipline forward. The social imaginary is the ensemble of stories possessed by all societies that serve to mediate human reality. Ricoeur uses this concept to understand and conceptualize the distinction between ideology and utopia. Ideology and utopia are reconceptualized by Ricoeur as integration/identity and rupture/critique, respectively. I argue that social psychology vacillates between these two positions and, as yet, has not been able to engage dialectically with both. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Practitioners of sadomasochism (SM) are currently excluded from full citizenship in the UK. However, in recent years we have seen a growth in stories of sadomasochism and with this a challenge to this exclusion from some within SM communities. Over the last ten years or so we also have witnessed the emergence of feminist, sexual and queer citizens providing radical challenges to mainstream approaches to citizenship. This article explores how SM provides boundary tests for notions of citizenship and how it also occupies a particularly complex position with regard to the relationship between citizenship and transgression and the intersection of gender, sexuality and citizenship. In the light of this, it is argued that it is necessary to engage dialectically with citizenship and transgression as a way of meeting the different needs of community members while continuing to work to transform the sexual citizen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whilst there has been substantial growth in brief therapies in recent years there have been limited attempts to specifically theorise the practice of brief existential therapy. Moreover, the recent attempts to provide guidelines for brief existential practice (Strasser and Strasser, 1997) provide only limited advances on 'traditional' open-ended existential practice. In this paper, I seek to explore the possibility of employing techniques from solution focussed therapy (SFT) in brief existential practice. I argue that the relatively a-theoretical nature of SFT readily enables the existential practitioner to engage with these techniques and indeed provide the necessary theoretical ground for this particular form of practice. Whilst making the case for the use of SFT in brief existential practice I also aim to highlight the possible difficulties of such a move and the tensions that might emerge from integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dream analysis has occupied a central place in psychoanalysis for much of its history with a wide body of literature testifying to its utility at least within this particular theoretical perspective. Existential psychotherapy, which has its practical if not theoretical roots in psychoanalysis has however paid much less attention to the topic to, I want to argue, its detriment. Existential psychotherapists since Boss (1957) have of course produced important material but there has not been much further discussion or elaboration of the theory and practice of dream analysis since this time. In this paper I seek to further elaborate the dream analysis of Medard Boss and in doing so highlight the ways in which this aspect of the psychotherapeutic process might be better and more frequently used in existential practice. To this end, I supplement the work of Boss with recent developments in phenomenological psychology, notably the work of Ashworth (2003a, 2003b) and the Sheffield School, which employs concepts from key existential thinkers to better enable the analyst to understand the material they are examining. In addition, I seek to supplement the analytic givens highlighted by the Sheffield School with Ricoeur's concept of narrative identity, which I will argue provides a vital key in unlocking a dream story. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conflict is a recurring theme in psychotherapy much as it is in everyday life. In this paper, I seek to introduce the reader to Ricoeur's work on ideology and utopia and suggest that this might form an alternative, though not exclusive, narrative framework (or critical hermeneutic) for understanding interpersonal conflict and reconciliation. Ricoeur's work on ideology and utopia is unusual for a number of reasons. In particular, it is one of the few attempts to conceptually draw ideology and utopia together within a common framework and develop a social theory where man remain centre-stage and not resigned to being nothing more than a pawn of prevailing economic forces. Drawing on this conceptual foundation, I argue that the interpersonal conflict we encounter between clients might best be resolved by engaging such clients in utopian imaginings and the active re-construction of narrative identities for self and other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In The Child's Relations with Others Merleau-Ponty (1964) criticises extant theories of child development and proposes a phenomenological alternative based on an embodied intersubjective development. Through this phenomenological examination of early child development Merleau- Ponty provides a profound challenge to classical dualist theories. Merleau- Ponty, following Wallon, argues that knowledge of ourselves, and others, is given through our interconnectedness. This paper seeks to outline and discuss Merleau-Ponty's developmental theory and argue that, not only do these insights challenge existing theories of child development, but they also provide a strong argument for further examination of the role of embodiment in psychotherapeutic theory and practice. In particular, I will suggest that, in the light of these arguments, existential-phenomenological practice fails to adequately account for the notion of the body-subject and needs to consider incorporating methods of enactment within the therapeutic process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plummer (1995) has identified a number of new sexual stories that characterize erotic life in late modern societies. He notes a number of such scripts emerging and flourishing between 1970 and 1990, speculating that sadomasochistic stories might be in the ascendant at the turn of century. However, Langdridge and Butt (2004) find little evidence of the emergence of a coherent sadomasochistic identity. They contend that the transgressive nature of the sexual in sadomasochism makes it difficult for participants in such practices to achieve legitimate “sexual citizenship” (Weeks, 1998). In this article, we note the emergence of an alternative construction of sadomasochistic practices; one that emphasises the erotic exchange of power. This illustrates both personal and social moments in the construction of erotic life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paul Ricoeur is one of the leading living hermeneutic phenomenological philosophers and yet his work has barely been considered in existential-phenomenological theory and practice. This is all the more surprising when one examines his early work and the way in which it bridges the focus on embodied experience emphasised in existentialism and the turn to language fundamental to post-modernism. This paper seeks to introduce a limited number of ideas from Ricoeur's early work and highlight some of the problems and possibilities that these have for existential-phenomenological psychotherapeutic theory and practice. In particular, I introduce the distinction between discourse and text, arguments for hermeneutics of empathy and suspicion and the need for a critique of the illusions of the subject. These ideas are introduced through a discussion of Ricoeur's intervention in the debate between Gadamer and Habermas, which focused on tradition versus critique in understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plummer (1995) argues that we are living in a time of 'new sexual stories'. This, combined with arguments that we are seeing the advent of the 'sexual citizen', who refuses to be marginalized on account of his or her sexuality, produces new sexual subjectivities that demand recognition and respect. In this article, we report on an investigation of a sexual story that is not new in itself but one that is yet to be fully explicated. This story is one involving dominance and submission. A hermeneutic phenomenological analysis (Ricoeur, 1981) of World Wide Web sites concerned with sadomasochism was conducted to examine the discursive resources drawn on in this paradoxical world. The findings are discussed in relation to the 'transformation of intimacy' (Giddens, 1992) and rise of the 'sexual citizen' in late modernity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the hermeneutic phenomenological philosophy of Paul Ricoeur, a philosopher. Ricoeur's work provides a theoretical position, which recognizes the embodied being-in-the-world of human beings that is beyond and pre-exists language, and an interpretative understanding of human nature through language. Existential phenomenology recognizes human beings as embodied creatures beyond language, whilst certain strands of discursively oriented psychology demonstrate an interpretative understanding of people through their use of language.

In this paper we attempt to draw attention to the widespread variation in legislation and regulation of assisted conception services throughout Europe and the implications that this may have for what is understood as 'a family'. At present, access to assisted conception services appears to rely on a 'traditional' notion of the family with the consequence that large numbers of potential service users are excluded. We believe that the existing state of assisted conception legislation already demonstrates a turn to the postmodern. This paper aims to make this turn to the postmodern more explicit and take it further towards what we argue is its inevitable conclusion. It is argued that a postmodern approach should benefit both assisted conception service providers and, perhaps more importantly, service users through an emphasis on localized knowledge, acceptance of difference and 'otherness', and a recognition of the complexity and ambiguity of human behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mobile phone and tablet apps are an increasingly common platform for collecting data. A key challenge for researchers has been participant "buy-in" and attrition for designs requiring repeated testing. Objective: The objective of this study was to develop and assess the utility of 1-2 minute versions of both classic and novel cognitive tasks using a user-focused and user-driven mobile phone and tablet app designed to encourage repeated play. Methods: A large sample of app users (N=13,979 at first data collection) participated in multiple, self-paced sessions of classic working memory (N-back), spatial cognition (mental rotation), sustained attentional focus (persistent vigilance task), and split attention (multiple object tracking) tasks, along with the implementation of a comparatively novel action- learning task. The "OU Brainwave" app was designed to measure time-of- day variation in cognitive performance and did not offer any training program or promise any cognitive enhancement. To record participants' chronotype, a full Morningness-Eveningness questionnaire was also included, which measures whether a person's circadian rhythm produces peak alertness in the morning, in the evening, or in between. Data were collected during an 18-month period. While the app prompted re- engagement at set intervals, participants were free to complete each task as many times as they wished. Results: We found a significant relationship between morningness and age (r=.298, n=12,755, P<.001), with no effect of gender (t13,539=-1.036, P=.30). We report good task adherence, with ~4000 participants repeatedly playing each game >4 times each--our minimum engagement level for analysis. Repeated plays of these games allowed us to replicate commonly reported gender effects in gamified spatial cognition (F1,4216=154.861, P<.001, …), split attention (F1,4185=11.047, P=.001, …), and sustained attentional focus (F1,4238=15.993, P<.001, …) tasks. We also report evidence of a small gender effect in an action-learning task (F1,3988=90.59, P<.001, η² .022). Finally, we found a strong negative effect of self-reported age on performance, when controlling for number of plays, in sustained attentional focus (n=1596, F6,1595=30.23, P<.001, η² =.102), working memory (n=1627, F6,1626=19.78, P<.001, η² =.068), spatial cognition (n=1640, F6,1639=23.74, P<.001, η² =.080), and split attention tasks (n=1616, F6,1615=2.48, P=.02, η² =.009). Conclusions: Using extremely short testing periods and permitting participants to decide their level of engagement--both in terms of which gamified task they played and how many sessions they completed--we were able to collect a substantial and valid dataset. We suggest that the success of OU Brainwave should inform future research oriented apps-- particularly in issues of balancing participant engagement with data fidelity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Criticism of orthodox models of prejudice reduction is particularly relevant for lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals, particularly when considering stage models of coming-out. If social change is to be effected regarding endemic homonegativity and heterosexism, then it is argued that a radical rethink is needed to the understandable but misinformed desire to get us to like each other more. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]