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22 papers
This article reviews theory and research on how people and cultures shape each other. It defines the self as the “me” at the center of experience — a developing sense of awareness and agency that forms as a person (both brain and body) becomes tuned to different environments. The authors…
This review looked at 13 studies of attachment in people with borderline personality disorder (BPD) or BPD traits. Every study found a strong link between BPD and insecure attachment. The insecure types most often seen were labeled unresolved, preoccupied, and fearful. The authors note that differences in how attachment was…
This 2022 paper by Stephen Porges presents Polyvagal Theory as a way to study how feelings of safety come from the body's nervous system. It proposes that safety is not just a mood but has measurable brain–body signals. The paper explains neural pathways (like the ventral vagal complex and a…
This review examines empathy in people with narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). It says empathy is not simply missing in NPD, but is complex and varies by situation and motivation. The paper notes empathy has two parts—feeling with others (emotional empathy) and understanding others' thoughts and feelings (cognitive empathy)—and finds emotional…
This open-access review article (Jan 2023) looks at what self-awareness is, how it develops, and how researchers measure it. The authors summarize evidence on both benefits and costs (including the downsides of too much inward focus), offer a framework that links learning processes, and report a literature search showing educational…
Anxiety has long been linked to worse performance in evaluative social settings such as sex, sport, and stage. This paper asks three main questions: how each field understands anxiety and performance, what they can learn from one another, and how they could share useful ideas. The authors review existing models…
The authors reviewed 104 independent samples of research on the Enneagram. They found mixed evidence about whether Enneagram measures are reliable and valid. Some studies fit parts of Enneagram theory and linked Enneagram subscales to Big Five personality traits, and some people reported the Enneagram helped with personal or spiritual…
Researchers followed people who used psychedelics in real life and signed up online. They asked them about their personality and how connected they felt to others before the experience, two weeks after, and four weeks after. On average, people reported feeling less emotional instability, becoming more friendly and cooperative, and…
This paper is a broad review that looks at how therapy that uses drugs together with psychotherapy should be done. The authors collect ideas from other studies about what therapists need to know, including ethical questions and the spiritual side of some treatments. They point out that the helpful effects…
This pilot randomized study tested Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy as a treatment for depression in college women. Thirty-seven female college students were randomly assigned to IFS or to treatment as usual (CBT or IPT). Both groups showed declines in depressive symptoms, and there were no significant differences in how…
This article reviews the idea of combining psychedelic drugs with group psychotherapy (PAGP). Using Yalom’s 11 therapeutic factors as a framework, the authors say PAGP may boost group connectedness, interpersonal learning, and prosocial behaviour, while also giving people chances to practise new ways of relating. They describe past and recent…
Earlier studies report that 30–60% of people who are betrayed by a romantic partner have PTSD, depression, or anxiety at clinically meaningful levels. This study interviewed 13 people who had completed a clinical trial for an adjustment problem after betrayal. Participants described betrayal as shocking and destabilizing and often used…
