Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 1, 2025

Protocol for Studying Extinction of Conditioned Fear in Naturally Cycling Female Rats
Published on: February 23, 2015
Culture, Gender, and Aggression in Psychodynamic Group Therapy: A Case of a Male-Only Group with Female Leaders in
Abstract:
The article focuses on a male-only therapy group that has been functioning for the last nine years in the Middle East, in Iran. The group has a permanent main female therapist and temporary, mostly female trainee cotherapists. We explore culturally specific factors that we believe impact expressions of aggression in the group. These factors include the Iranian gender segregation culture, the ideal of masculinity relating to the concept of "Gheirat" (moral vigilance), the legal acceptance of multiple wives in Iran (which often leads to family instability), and the cultural belief about the uncontrollability of sexual desires in men. We also comment on the role of a common dynamic in Iranian families, in which the relationships between mothers and sons are usually overwhelming while the emotional relationships between parents are somehow restrained. We close by discussing future directions for this area of study as well as by proposing interventions therapists may consider when encountering related group dynamics.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Socioemotional Experience and Gender Development
Group Therapy
Aggression
Psychological and Sociocultural Causes of Schizophrenia
Psychodynamic Therapy
The Stanford Prison Experiment

