https://doi.org/10.4081/ripppo.2023.710
Virtue, well-being, and mentalized affectivity
Submitted: July 31, 2023
Accepted: November 6, 2023
Published: December 31, 2023
Accepted: November 6, 2023
Abstract Views: 1303
PDF: 498
Supplementary Material: 89
HTML: 44
Supplementary Material: 89
HTML: 44
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Authors
Virtue ethics, featuring the claim that virtue leads to wellbeing, has been imported by psychologists from philosophy. In the first part of the paper, we re-examine the source of virtue ethics in Aristotle’s philosophy and question whether virtues can be the path to eudaimonistic well-being for us, given that contemporary society differs from ancient society in terms of a lack of consensus about virtues. We focus on the modulation of emotions as a good starting place for reconstruing virtue ethics, and we affirm a connection to well-being through the construct of “mentalized affectivity”, which is a specific kind of emotion regulation. In the second half of this hybrid paper, we provide evidence for the link between mentalized affectivity and well-being, based upon an empirical study with an adult sample (N=558). Our study examined how the Mentalized Affectivity Scale (MAS) predicts subjective well-being compared to five commonly used and related measures: Difficulty with Emotion Regulation Scale; Emotion Regulation Questionnaire; Flexibility Regulation of Emotional Expression scale; Reflective Functioning Questionnaire; Toronto Alexithymia Scale. The most important finding is that the MAS and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale are most predictive of satisfaction with life. A second finding, less relevant for the present paper, is that the MAS (namely, its components of Identifying and Processing) strongly predicted psychopathology, including anxiety and mood disorders. This suggests that the MAS is a valuable tool for research on emotion regulation, well-being, and psychopathology, and that mentalized affectivity ought to be regarded as a promising construct for re-describing and specifying the contemporary relevance of virtue ethics.
Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1985.
Aristotle. The Eudemian Ethics. Oxford: Oxford, 2011.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oseo/instance.00258602
Bagby, R.M., Parker, J.D., & Taylor, G.J. (1994). The twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale. I. Item selection and cross-validation of the factor structure. Journal of psychosomatic research, 38(1), 23-32.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-3999(94)90005-1
Baril, A. (2017). Virtue and well-being. The Routledge handbook of the philosophy of well-being. Routledge.
Bateman, A.W., & Fonagy, P. Eds (2019). Handbook of mentalizing in mental health practice. Second edition. American Psychiatric Association.
Buhrmester, M., Kwang, T., & Gosling, S. D. (2011). Amazon's Mechanical Turk a new source of inexpensive, yet high-quality, data?. Perspectives on psychological science, 6(1), 3-5.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691610393980
Burton, C.L., & Bonanno, G.A. (2016). Measuring ability to enhance and suppress emotional expression: The Flexible Regulation of Emotional Expression (FREE) Scale. Psychological assessment, 28(8), 929.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0000231
Christopher, J.C., & Hickinbottom, S. (2008). Positive psychology, ethnocentrism, and the disguised ideology of individualism. Theory & psychology, 18(5), 563-589. doi: 10.1177/0959354308093396
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0959354308093396
Christopher, J., Richardson, F., & Slife, B. (2008). Thinking through positive psychology. Theory & Psychology.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0959354308093395
Diener, E., Inglehart, R., & Tay, L. (2013). Theory and validity of life satisfaction scales.
Social Indicators Research, 112, 497-527. doi: 10.1007/s11205-012-0076-y
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-012-0076-y
Diener, E.D., Emmons, R.A., Larsen, R.J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49(1), 71-75.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa4901_13
Downey, C.A., & Chang, E.C. (2014). History of cultural context in positive psychology: we finally come to the start of the journey. Perspectives on the intersection of multiculturalism and positive psychology, 3-16.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8654-6_1
Fonagy, P., Gergely, G., Jurist, E., & Target, M. (2002). Affect regulation, mentalization, and the development of the self. Routledge.
Fonagy, P., Luyten, P., Moulton-Perkins, A., Lee, Y.W., Warren, F., Howard, S., ... & Lowyck, B. (2016). Development and validation of a self-report measure of mentalizing: the reflective functioning questionnaire. PloS One, 11(7), e0158678.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0158678
Fowers, B.J. (2008). From continence to virtue: recovering goodness, character unity, and character types for positive psychology. Theory & Psychology, 18(5), 629-653. doi: 10.1177/0959354308093399
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0959354308093399
Fowers, B. (2016). Aristotle on eudaimonia. Handbook of eudaimonic well-being.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42445-3_4
Gratz, K.L., & Roemer, L. (2004). Multidimensional assessment of emotion regulation and dysregulation: development, factor structure, and initial validation of the difficulties in emotion regulation scale. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 26(1), 41-54.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JOBA.0000007455.08539.94
Greenberg, D.M., Kolasi, J., Hegsted, C.P., Berkowitz, Y., & Jurist, E.L. (2017). Mentalized affectivity: A new model and assessment of emotion regulation. PloS ONE, 12(10), e0185264.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0185264
Greenberg, D.M., Rudenstine, S., Alaluf, R., & Jurist, E.L. (2021). Development and validation of the Brief-Mentalized Affectivity Scale: Evidence from cross-sectional online data and an urban community-based mental health clinic. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 77, 2638-2652. doi: 10.1002/jclp.23203
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.23203
Gross, J.J., & John, O.P. (2003). Individual differences in two emotion regulation processes: implications for affect, relationships, and well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(2), 348.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.85.2.348
Held, B.S. (2004). The negative side of positive psychology. Journal of humanistic psychology, 44(1), 9-46. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022167803259645
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0022167803259645
Held, B.S. (2005). The" Virtues" of Positive Psychology. Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, 25(1), 1.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/h0091249
Jurist, E.L. (2005). Mentalized affectivity. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 22(3), 426.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0736-9735.22.3.426
Jurist, E.L. (2008). Minds and yours: New directions for mentalization theory. In Jurist, E.L., Slade, A.E., & Bergner, S.E. (Eds.). Mind to mind: Infant research, neuroscience, and psychoanalysis.
Jurist, E.L., & Meehan, K.B. (2009). Attachment, mentalization, and reflective functioning. Attachment theory and research in clinical work with adults, Eds. J. Obegi and E. Berant, 71-93.
Jurist, E.L. (2010). Mentalizing minds. Psychoanalytic Inquiry, 30(4), 289-300.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/07351690903206496
Jurist, E. (2018). Minding emotions: Cultivating Mentalization in Psychotherapy. New York: Guilford Press.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994). Wherever you go, there you are: Mindfulness meditation in everyday life.
Kiknadze, N.C., & Fowers, B.J. (2023). Cultural variation in flourishing. Journal of Happiness Studies, 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-023-00677-9
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-023-00677-9
Kosman, L.A. (1980). Being properly affected: Virtues and feelings in Aristotle's ethics. Essays on Aristotle's ethics. Ed. A. Rorty.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520340985-010
Laloyaux, J., Fantini, C., Lemaire, M., Luminet, O., & Larøi, F. (2015). Evidence of contrasting patterns for suppression and reappraisal emotion regulation strategies in alexithymia. The Journal of nervous and mental disease, 203(9), 709-717.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/NMD.0000000000000353
Laney, M., & Brenner, A. (2019). Virtue ethics in psychotherapy. Oxford Handbook of Psychotherapy Ethics, 177-188. doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198817338.013.17
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198817338.013.17
Liotti, M., Spitoni, G.F., Lingiardi, V., Marchetti, A., Speranza, A.M., Valle, A., et al. (2021) Mentalized affectivity in a nutshell: Validation of the Italian version of the Brief-Mentalized Affectivity Scale (B-MAS). PLoS One, 16(12): e0260678. Doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0260678
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0260678
MacIntyre, A. (1981). After virtue. Whose Justice.
McDonald, M. & O’Callaghan, J. (2008). Positive psychology: a Foucauldian critique. The humanist psychologist, 36(2), 127-142.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/08873260802111119
Muraven, M., Tice, D.M., & Baumeister, R.F. (1998). Self-control as a limited resource: regulatory depletion patterns. Journal of personality and social psychology, 74(3), 774.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.74.3.774
Oettingen, G. (2014). Rethinking positive thinking: Inside the new science of motivation.
Orben, A., Dienlin, T., & Przybylski, A.K. (2019). Social media’s enduring effect on adolescent life satisfaction. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(21), 10226-10228.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1902058116
Rinaldi, T., Castelli, I., Greco, A., Greenberg, D.M., Jurist, E., Valle, A., & Marchetti, A. (2021) The Mentalized Affectivity Scale (MAS): Development and validation of the Italian version. PLoS ONE 16(4): e0249272. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0249272
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249272
Seligman, M.E., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction (Vol. 55, No. 1, p. 5). American Psychologist, 55(1). doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.5
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.5
Wenzlaff, R.M., & Wegner, D.M. (2000). Thought suppression. Annual review of psychology, 51(1), 59-9.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.51.1.59
How to Cite
Jurist, E., Greenberg, D., Pizziferro, M., Alaluf, R., & Perez Sosa, M. (2023). Virtue, well-being, and mentalized affectivity. Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome, 26(3). https://doi.org/10.4081/ripppo.2023.710
Copyright (c) 2024 the Author(s)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
PAGEPress has chosen to apply the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) to all manuscripts to be published.
Similar Articles
- Cristina Marogna, Emanuele Montanari, Silvio Contiero, Klodjana Lleshi, Dreaming during COVID-19: the effects of a world trauma , Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome: Vol. 24 No. 2 (2021): SPECIAL ISSUE "Working on dreams, from psychotherapy to neuroscience"
- Fabienne Gutjahr, Cord Benecke, Crying in psychotherapy: an exploratory mixed-methods study on forms of emotional crying and associated therapeutic interventions , Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome: Vol. 27 No. 1 (2024)
- Rachele Mariani, Silvia Monaco, Christopher Christian , Michela Di Trani, Dreaming in quarantine: linguistic analysis of referential process of dreams during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown , Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome: Vol. 24 No. 2 (2021): SPECIAL ISSUE "Working on dreams, from psychotherapy to neuroscience"
- Ana Bela Couto, Eunice Barbosa, Sara Silva, Tiago Bento, Ana Sofia Teixeira, Joào Salgado, Carla Cunha, Client's immersed and distanced speech and therapist's interventions in emotion-focused therapy for depression: an intensive analysis of a case study , Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome: Vol. 19 No. 2 (2016)
- Giorgia Margherita, Benedetta Muzii, Alessia Caffieri, Adriana Di Francia, Brenda Somma, ‘Isolated together’: online group treatments during the COVID-19 pandemic. A systematic review , Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome: Vol. 25 No. 3 (2022): SPECIAL ISSUE: "Group psychotherapy: between settled benchmarks and new horizons"
- Giovanna Esposito, Viviana Perla, Raffaella Passeggia, Erik Fertuck, Erhard Mergenthaler, Reflective functioning and personal recovery process of users with borderline personality disorder on Instagram: an explorative study using computerized and thematic analysis , Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome: Vol. 23 No. 3 (2020)
- Claudio Martinez Guzman, Alemka Tomicic, Lorena Medina, Mariane Krause, A Microanalytical Look at Mutual Regulation in Psychotherapeutic Dialogue: Dialogic Discourse Analysis (DDA) in Episodes of Rupture of the Alliance , Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome: Vol. 17 No. 2 (2014)
- Giulia Gagliardini, Salvatore Gullo, Edgardo Caverzasi, Annalisa Boldrini, Stefano Blasi, Antonello Colli, Assessing mentalization in psychotherapy: first validation of the Mentalization Imbalances Scale , Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome: Vol. 21 No. 3 (2018)
- Raquel Pereira, António Pazo Pires, David Neto, Therapist self-awareness and perception of actual performance: the effects of listening to one recorded session , Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome: Vol. 27 No. 1 (2024)
- Vera Békés, Claire J. Starrs, J. Christopher Perry, Tracy A. Prout, Ciro Conversano, Mariagrazia Di Giuseppe, Defense mechanisms are associated with mental health symptoms across six countries , Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome: Vol. 26 No. 3 (2023)
<< < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 > >>
You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.
