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The Algorithmically Structured Systematic Exploration of Subject's State of Mind. I. Development of a New Interview
Author(s) -
Stoléru Serge,
le Mer MarieNoëlle
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
international journal of applied psychoanalytic studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.314
H-Index - 15
eISSN - 1556-9187
pISSN - 1742-3341
DOI - 10.1002/aps.133
Subject(s) - interview , psychology , psychopathology , openness to experience , subject (documents) , phenomenology (philosophy) , applied psychology , social psychology , computer science , clinical psychology , epistemology , sociology , world wide web , philosophy , anthropology
Objective: To develop an interview method that combined the qualities of unstructured interviews, such as openness to unexpected information, and the qualities of structured interviews, such as adequate psychometric properties. Method: The innovative principle of the Algorithmically Structured Systematic Exploration of Subject's State of Mind (Assess_Mind) is to investigate, not the contents of mental phenomenology, but five mental functions – or “registers” – that mediate the experience of patients. The functioning of these registers – affects, fears, desires, memories, and associations of ideas – is explored using a rigorously defined algorithm for interviewing. Scales have been developed to rate 390 interviews on psychopathological dimensions of interest in a study of patients undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment. Results: As shown by vignettes from the various registers, the Assess_Mind provides detailed, comprehensive, and deep information on the five registers it investigates. Conclusion: Although the Assess_Mind uses a structured algorithm for data collection, its usefulness as a clinical research tool is based on the width and depth of its coverage of patients' current mental experience. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.