The Origins of the Embodied Self: Parental Embodied Mentalising
Dana Shai, Ph.D. [email protected]
Mentalisation
• perceiving,understanding,andinterpre0ngac0ons/
behavioursintermsofinten0onalmentalstates
• Behaviourpredictableandmeaningful
• Affectregula0onandself‐organisa0on
• Constructedinthea=achmentrela0onship
• Promotessecurea=achment(Fonagy,Gergely,Jurist,&Target,2002;Fonagy,Gergely,&Target,2007)
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Empirical Findings
• Parentalmentalisinganda=achmentsecurityArno=&Meins,2007;Fonagy,Steele,&Steele,1991;Meins,Fernyhough,Fradley,&Tuckey,2001;Slade,
Bernbach,Grienenberger,WohlgemuthLevy,&Locker,2005
• Child’sa=achmentsecurityandmentalisingFonagy,1997;Meins,Fernyhough,Russell,&Clark‐Carter,1998
• Parentalmentalisingandchild’ssocio‐emo0onaldevelopment
Fonagyetal.,1995,2002;Katz&Windercker‐Nelson,2004;Meinsetal.,2002,2003;Sharp&
Fonagy,2008
Measuring Parental Mentalising
• ParentalRF‐PDI(Slade,2002,2005;Slade,Bernbach,Grienenberger,Levy,&Locker,2004)
• Insigh_ulnessAssessment(Oppenheim,Koren‐Karie,&Sagi,2001)
• Mind‐Mindedness(Meins1997,1999)
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Verbal Parental Mentalising
• RFini0allyusedinterchangeablywithmentalisa0on
• “ThetermRFreferstotheopera&onalisa&onofthepsychologicalprocessesunderlyingthecapacitytomentalise”(Fonagyetal.,2002,p.24)
• “RFisanovertmanifesta&on,innarra&ve,ofanindividual’smentalisingcapacity”(Slade,2005,p.269)
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Intermediate Summary
1. ByoneyearofagetheinfanthasestablishedanIWMofthea=achmentrela0onshipwithprimarycaregiver
2.Parentalmentalisingpredictsthisa=achmentsecurityrepresenta0onofthechildandotherdevelopmentaloutcomes
3.Parentalmentalisingismeasuredtodatesolelyviaverbalassessments
4.Wecancomfortablyassumethatveryyoungchildrencannotcomprehendthesubtle0esofthecontentofspeechofparentswhentalkingtooraboutthem
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BUT…
• Whatisthepreverbalchild’sexperienceofrela0onshipwithmother?
• Whatisthemechanismthroughwhichparentalmentalcapaci0escometoshapethoseofinfant?
• Evidenceforindependentneuralmechanismsforexplicitandimplicitmentalising(e.g.,Lieberman,2007)
• Someotherformofcommunica0onwhichmakessensetotheinfant,islikelytobetakingplace:nonverbalinterac,vecommunica,on
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Nonverbal Developmental Research
• Eye‐contact/gazepa=erns(Beebe,2000;Beebe&Lachmann,1998;Fogel,1993;Jaffe&Feldstein,1970;Trevarthen,1979)
• Vocalrhythms(Beebe,Jaffe,Lachmann,Feldstein,Crown,&Jasnow,2000;Papouŝek&Papouŝek,1987)
• Headmovements(Beebe&Stern,1977,Beebeetal.,2010;Jaffeetal.,2001)
• Wherewholebody–eithercategorical/discreteornotdyadic
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Parental Embodied Mentalising
• ReconceptualisingparentalmentalisingNon‐declara0ve,implicit,outofawarenessAwayofknowingthroughthebody
• Inves0ga0onthroughthekinaesthe0clens• Subtlemovementquali0es‐‘how’ratherthan‘what’;theshade,notthecolour
• Inten0onalmentalstatesaswhole‐bodykinaesthe0cmanifesta0ons
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Parental Embodied Mentalising (PEM): Definition
1.Thecapacitytoimplicitlyconceive,comprehend,and
extrapolatetheinfant'smentalstatesfromthe
infant’swhole‐bodykinaestheAcexpressions,and
2.Adjustone’sownkinaesthe0cpa=ernsaccordingly.
Theoretical Background of PEM
• Thebodilyself(Freud,1923)
• Theindwellingofthepsycheinthesoma(Winnico=,1956,1960,1962)
• Mind=Psyche+Soma(Winnico=,1949,1988)
• SkinegoSecondaryskin(Bick,1968;Anzieu,1989;McDougall,1989;Ogden,1989;Tus0n,1992).
• MotoricegoCharacterArmour(Lowen,1958;Reich,1933).
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Relational approach to PEM
“Thereisnosuchthingasabody,thereisonlyabodyinrela&onshipwithanotherbody”
(Orbach,2004,p.28)
• Rela0onaldialec0cbodilyself(Aron,1998;White,2004;Winnico=,1962)
• Systemstheory(e.g.,Fogel,1993;Sander,1977)
• Thebodyasabidirec0onalpla_ormofrela0onalexperiences
• EmbodiedA=achment
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Vitality Affects
“ManyqualiAesoffeelingthatoccurdonotfitintoourexisAng
lexiconortaxonomyofaffects.TheseelusivequaliAesarebeGer
captured bydynamic, kine&c terms, such as ‘surging’, ‘fading
away’,‘fleeAng’...weareneverwithouttheirpresence,whether
or not we are conscious of them...the infant is immersed in
these‘feelingsofvitality’...thesocialworldexperiencedbythe
infantisprimarilyoneofvitalityaffectsbeforeitisaworldof
formalacts"(Stern,1985,pp.54‐57).
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PEM Construct- Premises
1. Mentalstatescan,andare,expressedbodilyandkinaesthe0cally
2. One’sinterpreta0onofthekinaesthe0cincidentsofanotherasexpressionsofmentalstatesgeneratesachangeinthemovementoftheoneobservingorinterac0ngwiththemover
3. Thedegreetowhichaparentcaninterprettheinfant’skinaesthe0coccurrencesasmentalis0cincidents,andasaresultrespondtothemkinesthe0cally,canserveasanassessmentofparentalmentalisa0on.
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Measuring PEM
• RootedinMovementAnalysisparadigms(e.g.Kestenberg,1967,1975;Laban&Rod,1975;Shahar‐Levi,2004)
• Anobserva0onaldyadicmeasure
• Focusonkinaesthe0candrhythmicexpressions
ofinten0onality
• Embodiedcirclesofruptureandrepair(e.g.,Benjamin,1998;Greenspan&Wieder,1997;Tronick,1989)
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PEM coding System
• Observa0onal
• Noverbalinput=‘mute’mode
• Analysisunit–EmbodiedCircleofCommunica0on(ECC):
• Amul0‐stepnonverbaldialogueinwhichtwoac0vepar0cipants
respondtothekinesthe0callymanifestedmentalstatesofeach
otherinareciprocalfashion(Greenspan&Wieder,1997).
• Iden0fyingtemporalboundariesofECCs
• ClassifyingECCaccordingtotypeandsubtype
• ScoringaGlobalPEMscore
Kinaesthetic Qualities
• TensionFlow(distressvs.comfort)
• Tempo(degreeofexcita0on)
• Direc,onality(pleasurevs.displeasure)
• Pathways(execu0ngintent)
• Space(selfandinterpersonalboundaries)
• Shi:ing(managingchange)
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PEM ECC Types
1.EmbodiedSupport
a. Holding
b. Sculp0ng
2.BodyOwnership
a. Facilita0ngaffectregula0on
b. Bodymanipula0on
c. Bodys0mula0on
3.Transi,ons
4.Promo,ngExplora,on
Study Design
• 150dyadsfromtheNICHDStudy
• Longitudinalstudy–6,15,54months
• IV:PEM,maternalsensi0vity
• DV:a=achmentsecurity,social,academic,and
behaviouraloutcomes
Main findings
• GlobalPEMscorescorrelatedwithHOMEmaternal
sensi0vity(r(148)=.33***)
• GlobalPEMscorespredictedsecureVs.insecure
a=achmentsecurity χ2(5,N=150)=4.07*
• SpecificallysecureVs.avoidantinfantsχ2(3,N=100)=5.89**
Main findings
• GlobalPEMScores,ECCtype,andECClengtheach
predicteda=achmentsecurityoveranabovematernal
sensi0vity
• Maternalsensi0vitywasnolongerpredic0veof
a=achmentsecurity
Main findings
Multinomial Logistic Regression Predicting Attachment from ECC Mean Length
Avoidant (A) Resistant (C)
Model and Predictor Variable
Maternal Sensitivity Not Controlled
ECC Type 1.06*** .17
ECC Length 1.19** 1.13
Global PEM .41*** .59
Maternal Sensitivity Controlled
ECC Type .11*** .19**
ECC Length 1.18** 1.12†
Global PEM .50* .69
Maternal sensitivity .84 .87
Thank you!
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