Introduction to the Interpersonal Approach.

Abstract

Interpersonal communications can be very powerful. The message one person conveys to another, whether verbal or nonverbal, may gratify a salient motive, causing joy; it may frustrate that motive, causing distress. It may rouse a person to action, or it may de-energize that person. It may draw people closer, or it may alienate them from one another.This book examines the proposition that psychopathology is often related to interpersonal processes. It applies principles of interpersonal psychology to the phenomena of psychopathology. An interpersonal approach poses characteristic questions. What do people seek when they interact with one another? How can these goals be systematized? How are interpersonal goals related to the person's self-image, and how does self-image affect interpersonal interactions? How do symptoms of psychopathology emerge from the interplay of selfimage, interpersonal goals, and interpersonal interactions? Research on interpersonal processes has proliferated in recent years, and this book was written to systematize that knowledge in relation to psychopathology.Of all the theoretical approaches to psychopathology, the interpersonal approach is probably the one that is most compatible with all of the others. First, like the biological approach, it assumes that innate differences in an infant's temperament can cause differences in interpersonal interactions. For example, infants who are temperamentally irritable are difficult to soothe, and, as we report later, parents treat hard-to-soothe infants differently from easy-to-soothe infants. As a result, innate differences in temperament are sometimes magnified by interpersonal processes.Second, like the cognitive-behavioral approach, the interpersonal approach emphasizes the role of cognitions in interpersonal interactions. As we show, an aggressive schoolboy may perceive a peer's accidental act as intentional. Because of such cognitions, the child may strike back in situations that another child would ignore as accidental. As a result, the child may acquire a reputation for aggression, and this reputation may in turn have further interpersonal consequences.Third, the interpersonal approach, like the humanistic approach, emphasizes the self, dyadic relationships, communication, empathy, and social support. All of these topics are prominent throughout this book.Finally, the interpersonal, like the psychodynamic approach, emphasizes motivation and motivational conflict. Many questions that we pose are questions of motivation. What do people want from dyadic interactions? Are they trying to avoid isolation by connecting with other people? Are they seeking au-

Somatoform Pain

“…The pivotal importance of the patient-doctor relationship in enhancing treatment compliance and improved outcome (including alleviation of pain symptoms) has been demonstrated by prior researchers (128) and efforts to incorporate these results into medical education programs are underway (129). Our theory would suggest that educational modules focused specifically on enhancing the interpersonal encounter and interpersonal affect regulation may be particularly helpful for the clinical care of patients with somatoform pain and medically unexplained symptoms.…”

Shame-Proneness Predicts Social Psychopathology: Considering the Sociometer Theory of Shame

“…On one hand, the act-person model of shame might make sense of this link by the fact that both shame and depression involve internal, stable, and global attributions and negative self-schemas. On the other hand, interpersonal models of depression suggest that negative self-evaluation and interpersonal processes are profoundly connected (e.g., Hames et al, 2013;Horowitz, 2004). For instance, one's negative self-directed appraisal and emotions, as well as negative social expectations (i.e., thwarted belongingness) can lead individuals to engage in problematic interpersonal behaviors such as social withdrawal, reassurance seeking, or coldness.…”