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Reciprocal exchanges can be understood as the updating of an initial belief about a partner. This initial level of trust is essential when it comes to establishing cooperation with an unknown partner, as cooperation cannot arise without a minimum of trust not justified by previous successful exchanges with this partner. Here we demonstrate the existence of a representation of the initial trust level before an exchange with a partner has occurred. Specifically, we can predict the Investor’s initial investment—i.e. his initial level of trust toward the unknown trustee in Round 1 of a standard 10-round Trust Game—from resting-state functional connectivity data acquired several minutes before the start of the Trust Game. Resting-state functional connectivity is, however, not significantly associated with the level of trust in later rounds, potentially mirroring the updating of the initial belief about the partner. Our results shed light on how the initial level of trust is represented. In particular, we show that a person’s initial level of trust is, at least in part, determined by brain electrical activity acquired well before the beginning of an exchange.
Beauty is the single most frequently and most broadly used aesthetic virtue term. The present study aimed at providing higher conceptual resolution to the broader notion of beauty by comparing it with three closely related aesthetically evaluative concepts which are likewise lexicalized across many languages: elegance, grace(fulness), and sexiness. We administered a variety of questionnaires that targeted perceptual qualia, cognitive and affective evaluations, as well as specific object properties that are associated with beauty, elegance, grace, and sexiness in personal looks, movements, objects of design, and other domains. This allowed us to reveal distinct and highly nuanced profiles of how a beautiful, elegant, graceful, and sexy appearance is subjectively perceived. As aesthetics is all about nuances, the fine-grained conceptual analysis of the four target concepts of our study provides crucial distinctions for future research.
Background: Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) is a distinct syndrome that follows bereavement. It is different from other mental disorders and is characterized by symptoms such as yearning for the bereaved, or intense emotional pain or distress. Violent loss is one major risk factor for the development of PGD.
Objectives: PGD has been studied in different populations, mostly in small samples, with only a few of them being representative. Although research highlighted that traumatic experiences paired with challenges related to migration make refugees particularly vulnerable to PGD, PGD has only rarely been studied in refugees. Thus, this article a) examines the prevalence of PGD in female refugees in Germany according to the criteria proposed by Prigerson and colleagues in 2009, and b) associates PGD with other common psychopathology (e.g. anxiety, depression, somatization and trauma).
Method: A total of 106 female refugees were assessed for bereavement and PGD. Of these 106 individuals, 85 were interviewed using the Prolonged Grief Disorder Scale (PG-13). Symptoms of anxiety and depression were assessed by the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 (HSCL-25), somatization was assessed by the Somatization Subscale of the Symptom-Checklist-90 (SCL-90), and the number of witnessed and experienced trauma was assessed by the Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale (PDS/HTQ).
Results: Ninety of the 106 participants had experienced bereavement, and among those, 9.41% met criteria for PGD. The most frequent PGD symptoms were bitterness, longing or yearning for the bereaved, and lack of acceptance of the loss. Furthermore, grief symptoms were significantly associated with symptoms of depression, anxiety, somatization, and the number of experienced traumatic events.
Conclusion: The PGD prevalence rate found corresponds with previous studies, demonstrating that prevalence rates for PGD are especially high in refugees. High prevalence rates of bereavement as well as PGD highlight the need for assessment and specifically tailored treatment of PGD in refugees. PGD goes along with significant psychopathology, which further emphasizes the need for treatment.
This paper investigates how the major outcome of a confirmatory factor investigation is preserved when scaling the variance of a latent variable by the various scaling methods. A constancy framework, based upon the underlying factor analysis formula that enables scaling by modifying components through scalar multiplication, is described; a proof is included to demonstrate the constancy property of the framework. It provides the basis for a scaling method that enables the comparison of the contribution of different latent variables of the same confirmatory factor model to observed scores, as for example, the contributions of trait and method latent variables. Furthermore, it is shown that available scaling methods are in line with this constancy framework and that the criterion number included in some scaling methods enables modifications. The impact of the number of manifest variables on the scaled variance parameter can be modified and the range of possible values. It enables the adaptation of scaling methods to the requirements of the field of application.
Although in real life people frequently perform visual search together, in lab experiments this social dimension is typically left out. Here, we investigate individual, collaborative and competitive visual search with visualization of search partners’ gaze. Participants were instructed to search a grid of Gabor patches while being eye tracked. For collaboration and competition, searchers were shown in real time at which element the paired searcher was looking. To promote collaboration or competition, points were rewarded or deducted for correct or incorrect answers. Early in collaboration trials, searchers rarely fixated the same elements. Reaction times of couples were roughly halved compared with individual search, although error rates did not increase. This indicates searchers formed an efficient collaboration strategy. Overlap, the proportion of dwells that landed on hexagons that the other searcher had already looked at, was lower than expected from simulated overlap of two searchers who are blind to the behavior of their partner. The proportion of overlapping dwells correlated positively with ratings of the quality of collaboration. During competition, overlap increased earlier in time, indicating that competitors divided space less efficiently. Analysis of the entropy of the dwell locations and scan paths revealed that in the competition condition, a less fixed looking pattern was exhibited than in the collaborate and individual search conditions. We conclude that participants can efficiently search together when provided only with information about their partner’s gaze position by dividing up the search space. Competing search exhibited more random gaze patterns, potentially reflecting increased interaction between searchers in this condition.
Introduction: Previous studies have established graph theoretical analysis of functional network connectivity (FNC) as a potential tool to detect neurobiological underpinnings of psychiatric disorders. Despite the promising outcomes in studies that examined FNC aberrancies in bipolar disorder (BD) and major depressive disorder (MDD), there is still a lack of research comparing both mood disorders, especially in a nondepressed state. In this study, we used graph theoretical network analysis to compare brain network properties of euthymic BD, euthymic MDD and healthy controls (HC) to evaluate whether these groups showed distinct features in FNC.
Methods: We collected resting‐state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from 20 BD patients, 15 patients with recurrent MDD as well as 30 age‐ and gender‐matched HC. Graph theoretical analyses were then applied to investigate functional brain networks on a global and regional network level.
Results: Global network analysis revealed a significantly higher mean global clustering coefficient in BD compared to HC. We further detected frontal, temporal and subcortical nodes in emotion regulation areas such as the limbic system and associated regions exhibiting significant differences in network integration and segregation in BD compared to MDD patients and HC. Participants with MDD and HC only differed in frontal and insular network centrality.
Conclusion: In conclusion, our findings indicate that a significantly altered brain network topology in the limbic system might be a trait marker specific to BD. Brain network analysis in these regions may therefore be used to differentiate euthymic BD not only from HC but also from patients with MDD.
Der vorliegende Band dokumentiert die Erhebungsinstrumente der dritten Phase des BilWiss-Forschungsprogramms BilWiss-UV1 ("Ertrag und Entwicklung des universitären bildungswissenschaftlichen Wissens - Validierung eines Kompetenztests für Lehrkräfte"), zu wissenschaftlichen Zwecken. Das Projekt wird im Rahmen des BMBF-Förderprogramms "KoKoHS - Kompetenzmodelle und Instrumente der Kompetenzerfassung im Hochschulsektor-Validierung und methodische Innovationen" gefördert. Das Forschungsprogramm ist ein Verbundprojekt der Goethe-Universität Frankfurt (Prof. Dr. Mareike Kunter, Koordination), der Universität Duisburg-Essen (Prof. Dr. Detlev Leutner) sowie der Technischen Universität München (Prof. Dr. Tina Seidel). Das gesamte Programm zielt darauf ab, zu untersuchen, inwieweit angehende Lehrkräfte durch das Studium der Bildungswissenschaften unterstützt werden, mit den vielfältigen Herausforderungen ihres Berufs professionell umzugehen. Die zentrale Annahme dabei ist, dass konzeptuelles Wissen über bildungswissenschaftliche Inhalte die professionelle Entwicklung im Vorbereitungsdienst und im Berufseinstieg unterstützt. Die Grundhypothese des Projekts lautet: Bildungswissenschaftliche Inhalte und Zusammenhänge stellen einen begrifflichen Rahmen dar, den Lehrkräfte benötigen, um Unterrichts- und Schulereignisse angemessen zu interpretieren, zu reflektieren und so für die eigene Kompetenzentwicklung zu nutzen. Für die seit 2009 bestehende Längsschnittstichprobe der Vorgängerprojekte BilWiss und BilWiss-Beruf fand Mitte des Jahres 2017 der fünfte MZP statt. Alle Teilnehmer(innen), die sich zur Teilnahme an weiteren Befragungen bereit erklärt hatten, wurden per Email kontaktiert und zur Teilnahme an der Onlineumfrage eingeladen. Es konnten 136 Personen erneut befragt werden, davon sind 124 derzeit aktiv als Lehrkraft im Schuldienst tätig (120 Lehrkräfte in Vollzeit). Im Rahmen des fünften Messzeitpunktes wurde neben Fragebogenskalen zum professionellen Verhalten, auch die im Rahmen von Meilenstein 3 entwickelte Verhaltenscheckliste eingesetzt. Durch deren Einsatz konnte ermittelt werden, dass nahezu alle der befragten Lehrkräfte Sonderfunktionen im Schuldienst übernehmen. Um einige wenige Beispiele herauszugreifen: Es sind 7 befragte Lehrkräfte in der Stufenkoordination beschäftigt, 111 Lehrer(innen) sind Klassenleitung. Als Mentor(in) engagieren sich 34 Personen und ebenfalls 34 Lehrer(innen) kooperieren mit außerschulischen Partnern. Die Durchführung des Observers wurde vom Standort München administriert und betreut. Ende des Jahres 2018 fand schlieÿlich der sechste und letzte Messzeitpunkt als Onlineerhebung statt. Bei der Bearbeitung standen neben der aktuellen beruflichen Situation auch das Erleben und das professionelle Verhalten im Lehrerberuf im Fokus. Zur Erfassung der Professional Vision in Elternberatungssituationen wurde das in 2017 entwickelte Videotool eingesetzt. Ergänzend wurde der Szenariotest zur Elternberatungskompetenz in einer Kurzversion eingesetzt (Bruder, Keller, Klug & Schmitz, 2011). Zur Erfassung des proaktiven Engagements in der Schulentwicklung wurde auch bei diesem Messzeitpunkt die Verhaltenscheckliste eingesetzt. Zur Erfassung der diagnostischen Kompetenz wurde ein neu entwickelter Vignetten-Test eingesetzt. Insgesamt konnten im Online-Fragebogen (inkl. Videotool, Szenariotest, Verhaltenscheckliste und diagnostischen Fallvignetten) 68 Personen befragt werden, davon sind 56 derzeit aktiv als Lehrkraft im Schuldienst tätig (51 Lehrkräfte in Vollzeit). Die in der Studie eingesetzten Instrumente sollen öffentlich für wissenschaftliche Zwecke zugänglich gemacht werden und sind vor allem als Hilfestellung für die Arbeit mit dem Längsschnittdatensatz anzusehen. Bereits veröffentlicht unter ISBN: 978-3-00-055380-6 finden Sie die Erhebungsinstrumente der Projektphasen des BilWiss-Forschungsprogramms von 2009-2016. Weiterführende Informationen zum theoretischen Ansatz der Studie und Ergebnissen der Studie können der Internetseite http://www.bilwiss.uni-frankfurt.de sowie den im Literaturverzeichnis aufgeführten Publikationen entnommen werden.
Der vorliegende Band dokumentiert die Erhebungsinstrumente der dritten Phase des BilWiss-Forschungsprogramms BilWiss-UV1 ("Ertrag und Entwicklung des universitären bildungswissenschaftlichen Wissens - Validierung eines Kompetenztests für Lehrkräfte") zu wissenschaftlichen Zwecken. Ziel dieser letzten Projektphase ist die Weiterentwicklung und Verbesserung des in den Vorgängerprojekten "BilWiss" und "BilWiss-Beruf" entwickelten Kompetenztests zur Erfassung des bildungswissenschaftlichen Wissens bei Lehramtsstudierenden und -absolvent(inn)en. Dieses Skalenhandbuch dokumentiert ausschlieÿlich den im Rahmen von BilWiss-UV erhobenen Studierendenlängsschnitt (LSII) der vorwiegend der Frage nachgeht, inwieweit sich bildungswissenschaftliches Wissen als Folge der Instruktion im Lehramtsstudium verändert. Ziel des Studierendenlängsschnittes ist es, eine Verteilung der Studierenden über den kompletten Studienverlauf abzubilden, da davon ausgegangen wird, dass je nach Fortschritt im Studium ein unterschiedlicher Bildungswissenschaftlicher Wissensstand zu erwarten ist. Das Projekt wird im Rahmen des BMBF-Förderprogramms "KoKoHS - Kompetenzmodelle und Instrumente der Kompetenzerfassung im Hochschulsektor-Validierung und methodische Innovationen" gefördert. Das Forschungsprogramm ist ein Verbundprojekt der Goethe-Universität Frankfurt (Prof. Dr. Mareike Kunter, Koordination), der Universität Duisburg-Essen (Prof. Dr. Detlev Leutner) sowie der Technischen Universität München (Prof. Dr. Tina Seidel). Das gesamte Programm zielt darauf ab, zu untersuchen, inwieweit angehende Lehrkräfte durch das Studium der Bildungswissenschaften unterstützt werden, mit den vielfältigen Herausforderungen ihres Berufs professionell umzugehen. Die zentrale Annahme dabei ist, dass konzeptuelles Wissen über bildungswissenschaftliche Inhalte die professionelle Entwicklung im Vorbereitungsdienst und im Berufseinstieg unterstützt. Die Grundhypothese des Projekts lautet: Bildungswissenschaftliche Inhalte und Zusammenhänge stellen einen begrifflichen Rahmen dar, den Lehrkräfte benötigen, um Unterrichts- und Schulereignisse angemessen zu interpretieren, zu reflektieren und so für die eigene Kompetenzentwicklung zu nutzen. Die in der Studie eingesetzten Instrumente sollen öffentlich für wissenschaftliche Zwecke zugänglich gemacht werden und sind vor allem als Hilfestellung für die Arbeit mit dem Längsschnittdatensatz anzusehen. Bereits veröffentlicht unter ISBN: 978-3-00-055380-6 finden Sie die Erhebungsinstrumente der Projektphasen des BilWiss-Forschungsprogramms von 2009-2016. Weiterführende Informationen zum theoretischen Ansatz der Studie und Ergebnissen der Studie können der Internetseite http://www.bilwiss.uni-frankfurt.de sowie den im Literaturverzeichnis aufgeführten Publikationen entnommen werden.
Objective: To determine whether the performance of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients in the sound-induced flash illusion (SiFi), a multisensory perceptual illusion, would reflect their cognitive impairment.
Methods: We performed the SiFi task as well as an extensive neuropsychological testing in 95 subjects [39 patients with relapse-remitting MS (RRMS), 16 subjects with progressive multiple sclerosis (PMS) and 40 healthy control subjects (HC)].
Results: MS patients reported more frequently the multisensory SiFi than HC. In contrast, there were no group differences in the control conditions. Essentially, patients with progressive type of MS continued to perceive the illusion at stimulus onset asynchronies (SOA) that were more than three times longer than the SOA at which the illusion was already disrupted for healthy controls. Furthermore, MS patients' degree of cognitive impairment measured with a broad neuropsychological battery encompassing tests for memory, attention, executive functions, and fluency was predicted by their performance in the SiFi task for the longest SOA of 500 ms.
Conclusions: These findings support the notion that MS patients exhibit an altered multisensory perception in the SiFi task and that their susceptibility to the perceptual illusion is negatively correlated with their neuropsychological test performance. Since MS lesions affect white matter tracts and cortical regions which seem to be involved in the transfer and processing of both crossmodal and cognitive information, this might be one possible explanation for our findings. SiFi might be considered as a brief, non-expensive, language- and education-independent screening test for cognitive deficits in MS patients.
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders with significant and often lifelong effects on social, emotional, and cognitive functioning. Influential neurocognitive models of ADHD link behavioral symptoms to altered connections between and within functional brain networks. Here, we investigate whether network-based theories of ADHD can be generalized to understanding variations in ADHD-related behaviors within the normal (i.e., clinically unaffected) adult population. In a large and representative sample, self-rated presence of ADHD symptoms varied widely; only eight out of 291 participants scored in the clinical range. Subject-specific brain-network graphs were modeled from functional MRI resting-state data and revealed significant associations between (non-clinical) ADHD symptoms and region-specific profiles of between-module and within-module connectivity. Effects were located in brain regions associated with multiple neuronal systems including the default-mode network, the salience network, and the central executive system. Our results are consistent with network perspectives of ADHD and provide further evidence for the relevance of an appropriate information transfer between task-negative (default-mode) and task-positive brain regions. More generally, our findings support a dimensional conceptualization of ADHD and contribute to a growing understanding of cognition as an emerging property of functional brain networks.
Memory enables us to use information from our past experiences to guide new behaviours, calling for the need to integrate or form inference across multiple distinct episodic experiences. Here, we compared children (aged 9–10 years), adolescents (aged 12–13 years), and young adults (aged 19–25 years) on their ability to form integration across overlapping associations in memory. Participants first encoded a set of overlapping, direct AB- and BC-associations (object-face and face-object pairs) as well as non-overlapping, unique DE-associations. They were then tested on these associations and inferential AC-associations. The experiment consisted of four such encoding/retrieval cycles, each consisting of different stimuli set. For accuracy on both unique and inferential associations, young adults were found to outperform teenagers, who in turn outperformed children. However, children were particularly slower than teenagers and young adults in making judgements during inferential than during unique associations. This suggests that children may rely more on making inferences during retrieval, by first retrieving the direct associations, followed by making the inferential judgement. Furthermore, young adults showed a higher correlation between accuracy in direct (AB, BC) and inferential AC-associations than children. This suggests that, young adults relied closely on AB- and BC-associations for making AC decisions, potentially by forming integrated ABC-triplets during encoding or retrieval. Taken together, our findings suggest that there may be an age-related shift in how information is integrated across experienced episodes, namely from relying on making inferences at retrieval during middle childhood to forming integrated representations at different memory processing stages in adulthood.
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders with significant and often lifelong effects on social, emotional, and cognitive functioning. Influential neurocognitive models of ADHD link behavioral symptoms to altered connections between and within functional brain networks. Here, we investigate whether network-based theories of ADHD can be generalized to understanding variations in ADHD-related behaviors within the normal (i.e., clinically unaffected) adult population. In a large and representative sample, self-rated presence of ADHD symptoms varied widely; only eight out of 291 participants scored in the clinical range. Subject-specific brain-network graphs were modeled from functional MRI resting-state data and revealed significant associations between (non-clinical) ADHD symptoms and region-specific profiles of between-module and within-module connectivity. Effects were located in brain regions associated with multiple neuronal systems including the default-mode network, the salience network, and the central executive system. Our results are consistent with network perspectives of ADHD and provide further evidence for the relevance of an appropriate information transfer between task-negative (default-mode) and task-positive brain regions. More generally, our findings support a dimensional conceptualization of ADHD and contribute to a growing understanding of cognition as an emerging property of functional brain networks.
Congenitally blind individuals have been shown to activate the visual cortex during non-visual tasks. The neuronal mechanisms of such cross-modal activation are not fully understood. Here, we used an auditory working memory training paradigm in congenitally blind and in sighted adults. We hypothesized that the visual cortex gets integrated into auditory working memory networks, after these networks have been challenged by training. The spectral profile of functional networks was investigated which mediate cross-modal reorganization following visual deprivation. A training induced integration of visual cortex into task-related networks in congenitally blind individuals was expected to result in changes in long-range functional connectivity in the theta-, beta- and gamma band (imaginary coherency) between visual cortex and working memory networks. Magnetoencephalographic data were recorded in congenitally blind and sighted individuals during resting state as well as during a voice-based working memory task; the task was performed before and after working memory training with either auditory or tactile stimuli, or a control condition. Auditory working memory training strengthened theta-band (2.5-5 Hz) connectivity in the sighted and beta-band (17.5-22.5 Hz) connectivity in the blind. In sighted participants, theta-band connectivity increased between brain areas typically involved in auditory working memory (inferior frontal, superior temporal, insular cortex). In blind participants, beta-band networks largely emerged during the training, and connectivity increased between brain areas involved in auditory working memory and as predicted, the visual cortex. Our findings highlight long-range connectivity as a key mechanism of functional reorganization following congenital blindness, and provide new insights into the spectral characteristics of functional network connectivity.
Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after childhood abuse (CA) is often related to severe co-occurring psychopathology, such as symptoms of borderline personality disorder (BPD). The ICD-11 has included Complex PTSD as a new diagnosis, which is defined by PTSD symptoms plus disturbances in emotion regulation, self-concept, and interpersonal relationships. Unfortunately, the empirical database on psychosocial treatments for survivors of CA is quite limited. Furthermore, the few existing studies often have either excluded subjects with self-harm behaviour and suicidal ideation — which is common behaviour in subjects suffering from Complex PTSD. Thus, researchers are still trying to identify efficacious treatment programmes for this group of patients.
We have designed DBT-PTSD to meet the specific needs of patients with Complex PTSD. The treatment programme is based on the rules and principles of dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT), and adds interventions derived from cognitive behavioural therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy and compassion-focused therapy. DBT-PTSD can be provided as a comprehensive residential programme or as an outpatient programme. The effects of the residential programme were evaluated in a randomised controlled trial. Data revealed significant reduction of posttraumatic symptoms, with large between-group effect sizes when compared to a treatment-as-usual wait list condition (Cohen’s d = 1.5).
The first aim of this project on hand is to evaluate the efficacy of the outpatient DBT-PTSD programme. The second aim is to identify the major therapeutic variables mediating treatment efficacy. The third aim is to study neural mechanisms and treatment sensitivity of two frequent sequelae of PTSD after CA: intrusions and dissociation.
Methods: To address these questions, we include female patients who experienced CA and who fulfil DSM-5 criteria for PTSD plus borderline features, including criteria for severe emotion dysregulation. The study is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, and started in 2014. Participants are randomised to outpatient psychotherapy with either DBT-PTSD or Cognitive Processing Therapy. Formal power analysis revealed a minimum of 180 patients to be recruited. The primary outcome is the change on the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5.
Discussion: The expected results will be a major step forward in establishing empirically supported psychological treatments for survivors of CA suffering from Complex PTSD.
Trial registration: German Clinical Trials Register: registration number DRKS00005578, date of registration 19 December 2013.
The paper outlines a method for investigating the speed effect due to a time limit in testing. It is assumed that the time limit enables latent processing speed to influence responses by causing omissions in the case of insufficient speed. Because of processing speed as additional latent source, the customary confirmatory factor model is enlarged by a second latent variable representing latent processing speed. For distinguishing this effect from other method effects, the factor loadings are fixed according to the cumulative normal distribution. With the second latent variable added, confirmatory factor analysis of reasoning data (N=518) including omissions because of a time limit yielded good model fit and discriminated the speed effect from other possible effects due to the item difficulty, the homogeneity of an item subset and the item positions. Because of the crucial role of the cumulative normal distribution for fixing the factor loadings a check of the normality assumption is also reported.
Music is an effective means of stress-reduction. However, to date there has been no systematic comparison between musical and language-based means of stress reduction in an ambulatory setting. Furthermore, although the aim for listening to music appears to play a role in its effect, this has not yet been investigated thoroughly. We compared musical means, language-based means like guided relaxation or self-enhancement exercises, and a combination of both with respect to their potential to reduce perceived stress. Furthermore, we investigated whether the aim one wants to achieve by listening to these means had an impact on their effect. We tested 64 participants (age: M = 40.09 years; 18 female) for 3–10 days during their everyday life using an app containing three means: musical means, language-based means, and a combination of both. For the music and the combination conditions participants were asked to select an aim: relaxation or activation. We measured perceived stress, relaxation, activation, and electrical skin resistance (ESR) as a marker of sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity before and after using the app. Participants were instructed to use the app as often as desired. Overall, perceived stress was reduced after using the app, while perceived relaxation and activation were increased. There were no differences between the three means regarding their effect on perceived stress and relaxation, but music led to a greater increase in ESR and perceived activation compared to the other means. There was a decrease in ESR only for music. Moreover, perceived stress was reduced and perceived relaxation was increased to greater extent if the aim “relaxation” had been selected. Perceived activation, however, showed a larger increase if the aim had been “activation,” which was even more marked in the case of music listening. Our results indicate that all three means reduced perceived stress and promoted feelings of relaxation and activation. For enhancing feelings of activation music seems to be more effective than the other means, which was reflected in increased SNS activity as well. Furthermore, the choice of an aim plays an important role for the reduction of stress, and promotion of relaxation and activation.
The arrangement of the contents of real-world scenes follows certain spatial rules that allow for extremely efficient visual exploration. What remains underexplored is the role different types of objects hold in a scene. In the current work, we seek to unveil an important building block of scenes—anchor objects. Anchors hold specific spatial predictions regarding the likely position of other objects in an environment. In a series of three eye tracking experiments we tested what role anchor objects occupy during visual search. In all of the experiments, participants searched through scenes for an object that was cued in the beginning of each trial. Critically, in half of the scenes a target relevant anchor was swapped for an irrelevant, albeit semantically consistent, object. We found that relevant anchor objects can guide visual search leading to faster reaction times, less scene coverage, and less time between fixating the anchor and the target. The choice of anchor objects was confirmed through an independent large image database, which allowed us to identify key attributes of anchors. Anchor objects seem to play a unique role in the spatial layout of scenes and need to be considered for understanding the efficiency of visual search in realistic stimuli.
Precise slow oscillation-spindle coupling promotes memory consolidation in younger and older adults
(2019)
Memory consolidation during sleep relies on the precisely timed interaction of rhythmic neural events. Here, we investigate differences in slow oscillations (SO; 0.5–1 Hz), sleep spindles (SP), and their coupling across the adult human lifespan and ask whether observed alterations relate to the ability to retain associative memories across sleep. We demonstrate that older adults do not show the fine-tuned coupling of fast SPs (12.5–16 Hz) to the SO peak present in younger adults but, instead, are characterized most by a slow SP power increase (9–12.5 Hz) at the end of the SO up-state. This slow SP power increase, typical for older adults, coincides with worse memory consolidation in young age already, whereas the tight precision of SO–fast SP coupling promotes memory consolidation across younger and older adults. Crucially, brain integrity in source regions of SO and SP generation, including the medial prefrontal cortex, thalamus, hippocampus and entorhinal cortex, reinforces this beneficial SO–SP coupling in old age. Our results reveal that cognitive functioning is not only determined by maintaining structural brain integrity across the adult lifespan, but also by the preservation of precisely timed neural interactions during sleep that enable the consolidation of declarative memories.
In psychotherapy, movement synchrony seems to be associated with higher patient satisfaction and treatment outcome. However, it remains unclear whether movement synchrony rated by humans and movement synchrony identified by automated methods reflect the same construct. To address this issue, video sequences showing movement synchrony of patients and therapists (N = 10) or not (N = 10), were analyzed using motion energy analysis. Three different synchrony conditions with varying levels of complexity (naturally embedded, naturally isolated, and artificial) were generated for time series analysis with windowed cross-lagged correlation/ -regression (WCLC, WCLR). The concordance of ratings (human rating vs. automatic assessment) was computed for 600 different parameter configurations of the WCLC/WCLR to identify the parameter settings that measure movement synchrony best. A parameter configuration was rated as having a good identification rate if it yields high concordance with human-rated intervals (Cohen’s kappa) and a low amount of over-identified data points. Results indicate that 76 configurations had a good identification rate (IR) in the least complex condition (artificial). Two had an acceptable IR with regard to the naturally isolated condition. Concordance was low with regard to the most complex (naturally embedded) condition. A valid identification of movement synchrony strongly depends on parameter configuration and goes beyond the identification of synchrony by human raters. Differences between human-rated synchrony and nonverbal synchrony measured by algorithms are discussed.
Switching between reading tasks leads to phase-transitions in reading times in L1 and L2 readers
(2019)
Reading research uses different tasks to investigate different levels of the reading process, such as word recognition, syntactic parsing, or semantic integration. It seems to be tacitly assumed that the underlying cognitive process that constitute reading are stable across those tasks. However, nothing is known about what happens when readers switch from one reading task to another. The stability assumptions of the reading process suggest that the cognitive system resolves this switching between two tasks quickly. Here, we present an alternative language-game hypothesis (LGH) of reading that begins by treating reading as a softly-assembled process and that assumes, instead of stability, context-sensitive flexibility of the reading process. LGH predicts that switching between two reading tasks leads to longer lasting phase-transition like patterns in the reading process. Using the nonlinear-dynamical tool of recurrence quantification analysis, we test these predictions by examining series of individual word reading times in self-paced reading tasks where native (L1) and second language readers (L2) transition between random word and ordered text reading tasks. We find consistent evidence for phase-transitions in the reading times when readers switch from ordered text to random-word reading, but we find mixed evidence when readers transition from random-word to ordered-text reading. In the latter case, L2 readers show moderately stronger signs for phase-transitions compared to L1 readers, suggesting that familiarity with a language influences whether and how such transitions occur. The results provide evidence for LGH and suggest that the cognitive processes underlying reading are not fully stable across tasks but exhibit soft-assembly in the interaction between task and reader characteristics.
In transferring the concept of flow to the context of fiction reading a new approach to understanding the evolvement of reading pleasure is provided. This study presents the Reading Flow Short Scale (RFSS), the first reading-specific flow measurement tool. The RFSS was applied to 229 readers via online survey after 20 min of reading in self-selected novels. In a systematic analysis of psychometric properties, the RFSS’ factorial structure, reliability, and associations with theoretically related constructs were examined. As expected, the RFSS showed a two-factor structure, positive correlations with variables related to reading pleasure and flow, and an inverted U-shaped association with perceived fit between reader skills and text challenge. Comparisons of confirmatory factor analysis model confirmed that RFSS items loaded on different latent variables than items assessing other narrative engagement concepts, namely presence, identification, suspense, and cognitive mastery, and hence distinctly capture flow states in fiction reading. In sum, our findings indicate that the RFSS is a useful instrument for assessing flow states in fiction reading, thereby enriching the portfolio of measurement instruments in reading research.
An individualized and coherent life story has been described as the form of identity that is required by highly mobile individualistic Western societies, whereas more family-oriented, traditional societies require more role-based, synchronic identities. Therefore in individualistic cultures entire life narratives can be expected to be more coherent and to contain more autobiographical arguments that contribute to life narrative coherence. This cultural group difference is expected to be mediated by individuals’ conformity to their respective cultural normative concept of biography, such that more conformity leads to less life narrative coherence and fewer autobiographical arguments. We tested these expectations by eliciting entire life narratives and cultural life scripts from four different cultural groups of students of technical universities: from provincial Karabük and from metropolitan Istanbul in Turkey, as well as from students with a Turkish migrant and with a native German background from urban Frankfurt am Main, Germany (N = 96). Expectations were confirmed for global life narrative coherence and autobiographical arguments with self-event connections. Conformity with a normative concept of biography indeed partially mediated cultural influences on life narrative coherence. Life narratives from Turkey also contained more family-related events and, unexpectedly, were more negative. Thus creating a coherent life narrative is more typical for cultures that require autonomous, individualized selves rather than for cultures requiring more related selves, reflecting the life story’s suitability for expressing individualized identities and its lesser suitability for expressing interdependent identities.
Dreams and psychosis share several important features regarding symptoms and underlying neurobiology, which is helpful in constructing a testable model of, for example, schizophrenia and delirium. The purpose of the present communication is to discuss two major concepts in dreaming and psychosis that have received much attention in the recent literature: insight and dissociation. Both phenomena are considered functions of higher order consciousness because they involve metacognition in the form of reflective thought and attempted control of negative emotional impact. Insight in dreams is a core criterion for lucid dreams. Lucid dreams are usually accompanied by attempts to control the dream plot and dissociative elements akin to depersonalization and derealization. These concepts are also relevant in psychotic illness. Whereas insightfulness can be considered innocuous in lucid dreaming and even advantageous in psychosis, the concept of dissociation is still unresolved. The present review compares correlates and functions of insight and dissociation in lucid dreaming and psychosis. This is helpful in understanding the two concepts with regard to psychological function as well as neurophysiology.
Successful retrieval from memory is a desirably difficult learning event that reduces the recall decrement of studied materials over longer delays more than restudying does. The present study was the first to test this direct testing effect for performed and read action events (e.g., “light a candle”) in terms of both recall accuracy and recall speed. To this end, subjects initially encoded action phrases by either enacting them or reading them aloud (i.e., encoding type). After this initial study phase, they received two practice phases, in which the same number of action phrases were restudied or retrieval-practiced (Exp. 1–3), or not further processed (Exp. 3; i.e., practice type). This learning session was ensued by a final cued-recall test both after a short delay (2 min) and after a long delay (1 week: Exp. 1 and 2; 2 weeks: Exp. 3). To test the generality of the results, subjects retrieval practiced with either noun-cued recall of verbs (Exp. 1 and 3) or verb-cued recall of nouns (Exp. 2) during the intermediate and final tests (i.e., test type). We demonstrated direct benefits of testing on both recall accuracy and recall speed. Repeated retrieval practice, relative to repeated restudy and study-only practice, reduced the recall decrement over the long delay, and enhanced phrases’ recall speed already after 2 min, and this independently of type of encoding and recall test. However, a benefit of testing on long-term retention only emerged (Exp. 3), when prolonging the recall delay from 1 to 2 weeks, and using different sets of phrases for the immediate and delayed final tests. Thus, the direct testing benefit appears to be highly generalizable even with more complex, action-oriented stimulus materials, and encoding manipulations. We discuss these results in terms of the distribution-based bifurcation model.
Wie eine "Heilslehre" überzieht der Begriff "Digitalisierung" fast alle Lebensbereiche – natürlich auch den Bildungsbereich. Gerade wir Informatiker*innen sind gefordert, diese Wege der Bildungstransformation mitzugestalten. Wir zusammen mit den Erziehungswissenschaftler*innen und Psychologen*innen müssen identifizieren, aufzeigen und vorbildlich umsetzen, was sinnvoll und möglich ist. Wir sind diejenigen, die die Bedingungen des Gelingens und auch die der Irrwege erforschen und aufzeigen müssen. Digitalisierungswahnsinn brauchen wir nicht!
Die 16. Jahrestagung DeLFI 2018 der Fachgruppe eLearning der Gesellschaft für Informatik e. V. findet vom 10. bis 13.September 2018 an der Johann Wolfgang Goethe – Universität, Frankfurt am Main statt, gemeinsam mit der 8. Tagung für Hochschuldidaktik der Informatik HDI 2018. ...
Using the method or time-delayed embedding, a signal can be embedded into higher-dimensional space in order to study its dynamics. This requires knowledge of two parameters: The delay parameter τ, and the embedding dimension parameter D. Two standard methods to estimate these parameters in one-dimensional time series involve the inspection of the Average Mutual Information (AMI) function and the False Nearest Neighbor (FNN) function. In some contexts, however, such as phase-space reconstruction for Multidimensional Recurrence Quantification Analysis (MdRQA), the empirical time series that need to be embedded already possess a dimensionality higher than one. In the current article, we present extensions of the AMI and FNN functions for higher dimensional time series and their application to data from the Lorenz system coded in Matlab.
Erstmalig begrüßen Sie zwei Veranstalter zum Kongress der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Psychologie (DGPs). Im Namen der Goethe-Universität und des DIPF heißen wir Sie zum 51. DGPs-Kongress in Frankfurt herzlich willkommen. Unser diesjähriges Motto "Psychologie gestaltet" stellt die Bedeutung der wissenschaftlichen Psychologie für die Bewältigung individueller und gesellschaftlicher Herausforderungen in den Mittelpunkt. Als Forschende haben wir in vielen Bereichen die Möglichkeit, positiv zur Gestaltung menschlichen Lebens und Zusammenlebens beizutragen. In diesem Sinne freuen wir uns auf einen anregenden Kongress, gestaltet durch die rund 2400 wissenschaftlichen Beiträge aus allen Gebieten der Psychologie. ...
Research on the music-language interface has extensively investigated similarities and differences of poetic and musical meter, but largely disregarded melody. Using a measure of melodic structure in music––autocorrelations of sound sequences consisting of discrete pitch and duration values––, we show that individual poems feature distinct and text-driven pitch and duration contours, just like songs and other pieces of music. We conceptualize these recurrent melodic contours as an additional, hitherto unnoticed dimension of parallelistic patterning. Poetic speech melodies are higher order units beyond the level of individual syntactic phrases, and also beyond the levels of individual sentences and verse lines. Importantly, auto-correlation scores for pitch and duration recurrences across stanzas are predictive of how melodious naive listeners perceive the respective poems to be, and how likely these poems were to be set to music by professional composers. Experimentally removing classical parallelistic features characteristic of prototypical poems (rhyme, meter, and others) led to decreased autocorrelation scores of pitches, independent of spoken renditions, along with reduced ratings for perceived melodiousness. This suggests that the higher order parallelistic feature of poetic melody strongly interacts with the other parallelistic patterns of poems. Our discovery of a genuine poetic speech melody has great potential for deepening the understanding of the music-language interface.
Using photo elicitation to introduce a network perspective on attachment during middle childhood
(2018)
In this article, we develop a child-centered network approach to attachment during middle childhood. Following monotropic ideas, current attachment research focuses on parental attachment figures despite the expansion of the children’s social environment during middle childhood, failing to generate a comprehensive and structured overview of all individuals who ensure the children’s feeling of safety. Relying on quantitative methods, these studies are also dominated by an adult perspective, limiting the children’s contributions. While there have been theoretical drafts of attachment networks during childhood, this article constitutes the first practical implementation. Using photo elicitation interviews and participant observations, we developed an innovative assessment strategy that allows children to exhaustively identify and characterize all their attachment figures on sociostructural and functional dimensions, thus positioning the children at the center of their comprehensive attachment networks that collectively contribute to their feeling of security. We combine qualitative and quantitative data to assess the children’s own understanding of their feeling of security and to locate the individual attachment figure on context-specific social dimensions, thus making the research setting, a clan in Cameroon, an inherent part of the methodological development. The data are translated into multidimensional network diagrams to visualize the children’s perception of their attachment environment and the emerging patterns of their selection. We present an exemplary network, supplementing it with observational data to discuss the ecological validity of our approach.
Cultural psychology assumes that the ecocultural conditions of a particular setting shape children’s pathways, resulting in multiple adaptive solutions to universal developmental tasks. While the adaptivity of attachment and children’s psychosocial development during the early years has been thoroughly investigated, attachment research during middle childhood continues to reflect Western ideals of family. Adhering to ideas of monotropy, most studies only focus on parental attachment figures. However, this restricted empirical perspective does not only result in a Eurocentric bias, it also neglects theoretical reflections on the growing complexity of attachment during middle childhood, thus only considering a limited selection of all individuals contributing to the children’s feeling of security, even in Western settings. To investigate the variability and adaptivity of attachment during middle childhood, this study assessed children’s attachment figures in two extreme settings of development, introducing an exhaustive network perspective on attachment during this developmental stage. Children of the Cameroonian Nseh (N = 11) and German children from Bad Nauheim (N = 11) identified and differentiated all individuals contributing to their attachment need in an exploratory and transdisciplinary approach. The socio-structural composition of children’s attachment networks follows the context-specific systems of care and concepts of interconnectedness and the ecological features of each setting, resulting in marked differences between both contexts. The functional composition, however, reflects children’s preoccupation with similar developmental challenges across settings. Same-aged peers contribute to the children’s feeling of safety in both settings, thereby deviating from previous reflections on their subordinate relevance during middle childhood. Overall, these results support the adaptiveness of children’s attachment patterns while also demonstrating universal trends across contexts. They highlight the collective nature of attachment during middle childhood that exceeds the impact of individual dyads. Thus, broad and context-sensitive research strategies become a necessary addition to attachment research in order to generate an exhaustive understanding for children’s development across cultural contexts.
Our ability to select relevant information from the environment is limited by the resolution of attention – i.e., the minimum size of the region that can be selected. Neural mechanisms that underlie this limit and its development are not yet understood. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was performed during an object tracking task in 7- and 11-year-old children, and in young adults. Object tracking activated canonical fronto-parietal attention systems and motion-sensitive area MT in children as young as 7 years. Object tracking performance improved with age, together with stronger recruitment of parietal attention areas and a shift from low-level to higher-level visual areas. Increasing the required resolution of spatial attention – which was implemented by varying the distance between target and distractors in the object tracking task – led to activation increases in fronto-insular cortex, medial frontal cortex including anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and supplementary motor area, superior colliculi, and thalamus. This core circuitry for attentional precision was recruited by all age groups, but ACC showed an age-related activation reduction. Our results suggest that age-related improvements in selective visual attention and in the resolution of attention are characterized by an increased use of more functionally specialized brain regions during the course of development.
Background: Scientifically evaluated cognitive intervention programs are essential to meet the demands of our increasingly aging society. Currently, one of the “hottest” topics in the field is the improvement of working memory function and its potential impact on overall cognition. The present study evaluated the efficacy of WOME (WOrking MEmory), a theory-based working memory training program, in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, and randomized controlled trial (www.drks.de, DRKS00013162).
Methods: N = 60 healthy older adults were allocated to (1) the WOME intervention, (2) an active low-level intervention, or (3) a passive control group. Overall, the intervention groups practiced twelve sessions of 45 min within 4 weeks of their respective training. Transfer effects were measured via an extensive battery of neuropsychological tests and questionnaires both pre-/post-training and at a 3-month follow-up.
Results: WOME led to a significant improvement in working memory function, demonstrated on a non-trained near transfer task and on two different composite scores with moderate to large effect sizes. In addition, we found some indication of relevant impact on everyday life. The effects were short-term rather than stable, being substantially diminished at follow-up with only little evidence suggesting long-term maintenance. No transfer effects on other cognitive functions were observed.
Conclusion: WOME is an appropriate and efficient intervention specifically targeting the working memory system in healthy older adults.
Trial Registration: German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS), Identifier: DRKS00013162.
Perception of irony has been observed to be impaired in adults with autism spectrum disorder. In typically developed adults, the mismatch of verbal and nonverbal emotional cues can be perceived as an expression of irony even in the absence of any further contextual information. In this study, we evaluate to what extent high functioning autists perceive this incongruence as expressing irony. Our results show that incongruent verbal and nonverbal signals create an impression of irony significantly less often in participants with high-functioning autism than in typically developed control subjects. The extent of overall autistic symptomatology as measured with the autism-spectrum questionnaire (AQ), however, does not correlate with the reduced tendency to attribute incongruent stimuli as expressing irony. Therefore, the attenuation in irony attribution might rather be related to specific subdomains of autistic traits, such as a reduced tendency to interpret communicative signals in terms of complex intentional mental states. The observed differences in irony attribution support the assumption that a less pronounced tendency to engage in higher order mentalization processes might underlie the impairment of pragmatic language understanding in high functioning autism.
Objects that are semantically related to the visual scene context are typically better recognized than unrelated objects. While context effects on object recognition are well studied, the question which particular visual information of an object’s surroundings modulates its semantic processing is still unresolved. Typically, one would expect contextual influences to arise from high-level, semantic components of a scene but what if even low-level features could modulate object processing? Here, we generated seemingly meaningless textures of real-world scenes, which preserved similar summary statistics but discarded spatial layout information. In Experiment 1, participants categorized such textures better than colour controls that lacked higher-order scene statistics while original scenes resulted in the highest performance. In Experiment 2, participants recognized briefly presented consistent objects on scenes significantly better than inconsistent objects, whereas on textures, consistent objects were recognized only slightly more accurately. In Experiment 3, we recorded event-related potentials and observed a pronounced mid-central negativity in the N300/N400 time windows for inconsistent relative to consistent objects on scenes. Critically, inconsistent objects on textures also triggered N300/N400 effects with a comparable time course, though less pronounced. Our results suggest that a scene’s low-level features contribute to the effective processing of objects in complex real-world environments.
Purpose: Collaborative care is effective in improving symptoms of patients with depression. The aims of this study were to characterize symptom trajectories in patients with major depression during one year of collaborative care and to explore associations between baseline characteristics and symptom trajectories.
Methods: We conducted a cluster-randomized controlled trial in primary care. The collaborative care intervention comprised case management and behavioral activation. We used the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) to assess symptom severity as the primary outcome. Statistical analyses comprised latent growth mixture modeling and a hierarchical binary logistic regression model.
Results: We included 74 practices and 626 patients (310 intervention and 316 control recipients) at baseline. Based on a minimum of 12 measurement points for each intervention recipient, we identified two latent trajectories, which we labeled "fast improvers" (60.5%) and "slow improvers" (39.5%). At all measurements after baseline, "fast improvers" presented higher PHQ mean values than "slow improvers". At baseline, "fast improvers" presented fewer physical conditions, higher health-related quality of life, and had made fewer suicide attempts in their history.
Conclusions: A notable proportion of 39.5% of patients improved only "slowly" and probably needed more intense treatment. The third follow-up in month two could well be a sensible time to adjust treatment to support "slow improvers".
Background: A diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) requires the identification of one or more traumatic events, designated the index trauma, which serves as the basis for assessment of severity of PTSD. In patients who have experienced more than one traumatic event, severity may depend on the exact definition of the index trauma. Defining the index trauma as the worst single incident may result in PTSD severity scores that differ from what would be seen if the index trauma included multiple events.
Objective: This study aimed to investigate the impact of the definition of the index trauma on PTSD baseline severity scores and treatment outcome.
Method: A planned secondary analysis was performed on data from a subset (N = 58) of patients enrolled in a trial evaluating the efficacy of a 12 week residential dialectical behavioural therapy programme for PTSD related to childhood abuse (DBT-PTSD). Assessments of the severity of PTSD were conducted at admission, at the end of the 12 week treatment period, and at 6 and 12 weeks post-treatment, using the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale. The index trauma was defined with respect to both the worst single incident and up to three qualitatively distinct traumatic events.
Results: When the index trauma included multiple traumas, PTSD severity scores were significantly higher and improvements from pre- to post-treatment were significantly lower than when the index trauma was defined as the worst single incident.
Conclusions: In patients with PTSD who have experienced multiple traumas, defining the index trauma as the worst single incident may miss some aspects of clinically relevant symptomatology, thereby leading to a possibly biased interpretation of treatment effects. In DBT-PTSD, treatment effects were lower when the index trauma included multiple traumatic events. More research is needed to determine the impact of the various index trauma definitions on the evaluation of other trauma-focused treatments.
When mapping eye-movement behavior to the visual information presented to an observer, Areas of Interest (AOIs) are commonly employed. For static stimuli (screen without moving elements), this requires that one AOI set is constructed for each stimulus, a possibility in most eye-tracker manufacturers' software. For moving stimuli (screens with moving elements), however, it is often a time-consuming process, as AOIs have to be constructed for each video frame. A popular use-case for such moving AOIs is to study gaze behavior to moving faces. Although it is technically possible to construct AOIs automatically, the standard in this field is still manual AOI construction. This is likely due to the fact that automatic AOI-construction methods are (1) technically complex, or (2) not effective enough for empirical research. To aid researchers in this field, we present and validate a method that automatically achieves AOI construction for videos containing a face. The fully-automatic method uses an open-source toolbox for facial landmark detection, and a Voronoi-based AOI-construction method. We compared the position of AOIs obtained using our new method, and the eye-tracking measures derived from it, to a recently published semi-automatic method. The differences between the two methods were negligible. The presented method is therefore both effective (as effective as previous methods), and efficient; no researcher time is needed for AOI construction. The software is freely available from https://osf.io/zgmch/.
Social identification has been shown to be a protective resource for mental health. In this study, the relationships between social identification and emotional, as well as cognitive symptoms of test anxiety are investigated. Participants were university students diagnosed with test anxiety (N = 108). They completed questionnaires regarding a range of psychopathologic stress symptoms, and their social identification with fellow students and with their study program. Results reveal negative relations between social identification and almost all investigated emotional and cognitive symptoms of test anxiety. Based on this study, interventions could be developed that strengthen the social identity of university students.
Studies investigating the prevalence, cause, and consequence of multiple sclerosis (MS) fatigue typically use single measures that implicitly assume symptom-stability over time, neglecting information about if, when, and why severity fluctuates. We aimed to examine the extent of moment-to-moment and day-to-day variability in fatigue in relapsing-remitting MS and healthy individuals, and identify daily life determinants of fluctuations. Over 4 weekdays, 76 participants (38 relapsing-remitting MS; 38 controls) recruited from multiple sites provided real-time self-reports six times daily (n = 1661 observations analyzed) measuring fatigue severity, stressors, mood, and physical exertion, and daily self-reports of sleep quality. Fatigue fluctuations were evident in both groups. Fatigue was highest in relapsing-remitting MS, typically peaking in late-afternoon. In controls, fatigue started lower and increased steadily until bedtime. Real-time stressors and negative mood were associated with increased fatigue, and positive mood with decreased fatigue in both groups. Increased fatigue was related to physical exertion in relapsing-remitting MS, and poorer sleep quality in controls. In relapsing-remitting MS, fatigue fluctuates substantially over time. Many daily life determinants of fluctuations are similar in relapsing-remitting MS and healthy individuals (stressors, mood) but physical exertion seems more relevant in relapsing-remitting MS and sleep quality most relevant in healthy individuals.
Background: Early-life institutional deprivation produces disinhibited social engagement (DSE). Portrayed as a childhood condition, little is known about the persistence of DSE-type behaviours into, presentation during, and their impact on, functioning in adulthood.
Aims: We examine these issues in the young adult follow-up of the English and Romanian Adoptees study.
Method: A total of 122 of the original 165 Romanian adoptees who had spent up to 43 months as children in Ceauşescu's Romanian orphanages and 42 UK adoptees were assessed for DSE behaviours, neurodevelopmental and mental health problems, and impairment between ages 2 and 25 years.
Results: Young adult DSE behaviour was strongly associated with early childhood deprivation, with a sixfold increase for those who spent more than 6 months in institutions. However, although DSE overlapped with autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms it was not, in itself, related to broader patterns of mental health problems or impairments in daily functioning in young adulthood.
Conclusions: DSE behaviour remained a prominent, but largely clinically benign, young adult feature of some adoptees who experienced early deprivation.
Background: The risk for major depression and obesity is increased in adolescents and adults with attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and adolescent ADHD predicts adult depression and obesity. Non-pharmacological interventions to treat and prevent these co-morbidities are urgently needed. Bright light therapy (BLT) improves day–night rhythm and is an emerging therapy for major depression. Exercise intervention (EI) reduces obesity and improves depressive symptoms. To date, no randomized controlled trial (RCT) has been performed to establish feasibility and efficacy of these interventions targeting the prevention of co-morbid depression and obesity in ADHD. We hypothesize that the two manualized interventions in combination with mobile health-based monitoring and reinforcement will result in less depressive symptoms and obesity compared to treatment as usual in adolescents and young adults with ADHD.
Methods: This trial is a prospective, pilot phase-IIa, parallel-group RCT with three arms (two add-on treatment groups [BLT, EI] and one treatment as usual [TAU] control group). The primary outcome variable is change in the Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology total score (observer-blinded assessment) between baseline and ten weeks of intervention. This variable is analyzed with a mixed model for repeated measures approach investigating the treatment effect with respect to all three groups. A total of 330 participants with ADHD, aged 14 – < 30 years, will be screened at the four study centers. To establish effect sizes, the sample size was planned at the liberal significance level of α = 0.10 (two-sided) and the power of 1-β = 80% in order to find medium effects. Secondary outcomes measures including change in obesity, ADHD symptoms, general psychopathology, health-related quality of life, neurocognitive function, chronotype, and physical fitness are explored after the end of the intervention and at the 12-week follow-up.
Discussion: This is the first pilot RCT on the use of BLT and EI in combination with mobile health-based monitoring and reinforcement targeting the prevention of co-morbid depression and obesity in adolescents and young adults with ADHD. If at least medium effects can be established with regard to the prevention of depressive symptoms and obesity, a larger scale confirmatory phase-III trial may be warranted.
Trial registration: German Clinical Trials Register, DRKS00011666. Registered on 9 February 2017. ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03371810. Registered on 13 December 2017.
Scene grammar shapes the way we interact with objects, strengthens memories, and speeds search
(2017)
Predictions of environmental rules (here referred to as "scene grammar") can come in different forms: seeing a toilet in a living room would violate semantic predictions, while finding a toilet brush next to the toothpaste would violate syntactic predictions. The existence of such predictions has usually been investigated by showing observers images containing such grammatical violations. Conversely, the generative process of creating an environment according to one’s scene grammar and its effects on behavior and memory has received little attention. In a virtual reality paradigm, we either instructed participants to arrange objects according to their scene grammar or against it. Subsequently, participants’ memory for the arrangements was probed using a surprise recall (Exp1), or repeated search (Exp2) task. As a result, participants’ construction behavior showed strategic use of larger, static objects to anchor the location of smaller objects which are generally the goals of everyday actions. Further analysis of this scene construction data revealed possible commonalities between the rules governing word usage in language and object usage in naturalistic environments. Taken together, we revealed some of the building blocks of scene grammar necessary for efficient behavior, which differentially influence how we interact with objects and what we remember about scenes.
We aimed to prospectively assess changes in chronic stress among young adults transitioning from high school to university or working life. A population-based cohort in Munich and Dresden (Germany) was followed from age 16–18 (2002–2003) to age 20–23 (2007–2009) (n = 1688). Using the Trier Inventory for the Assessment of Chronic Stress, two dimensions of stress at university or work were assessed: work overload and work discontent. In the multiple ordinal generalized estimating equations, socio-demographics, stress outside the workplace, and job history were additionally considered. At follow-up, 52% of the population were university students. Work overload increased statistically significantly from first to second follow-up, while work discontent remained constant at the population level. Students, compared to employees, reported a larger increase in work overload (adjusted odds ratio (OR): 1.33; 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.07, 1.67), while work discontent did not differ between the groups. In conclusion, work overload increases when young adults transition from school to university/job life, with university students experiencing the largest increase.
Background: Anger and aggression belong to the core symptoms of borderline personality disorder. Although an early and specific treatment of BPD is highly relevant to prevent chronification, still little is known about anger and aggression and their neural underpinnings in adolescents with BPD.
Method: Twenty female adolescents with BPD (age 15–17 years) and 20 female healthy adolescents (age 15–17 years) took part in this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study. A script-driven imagery paradigm was used to induce rejection-based feelings of anger, which was followed by descriptions of self-directed and other-directed aggressive reactions. To investigate the specificity of the neural activation patterns for adolescent patients, results were compared with data from 34 female adults with BPD (age 18–50 years) and 32 female healthy adults (age 18–50 years).
Results: Adolescents with BPD showed increased activations in the left posterior insula and left dorsal striatum as well as in the left inferior frontal cortex and parts of the mentalizing network during the rejection-based anger induction and the imagination of aggressive reactions compared to healthy adolescents. For the other-directed aggression phase, a significant diagnosis by age interaction confirmed that these results were specific for adolescents.
Discussion: The results of this very first fMRI study on anger and aggression in adolescents with BPD suggest an enhanced emotional reactivity to and higher effort in controlling anger and aggression evoked by social rejection at an early developmental stage of the disorder. Since emotion dysregulation is a known mediator for aggression in BPD, the results point to the need of appropriate early interventions for adolescents with BPD.
Die vorliegende Arbeit befasst sich damit, wie die spezifische Durchführung eines besonderen psychologischen Laborexperiments in eine allgemeine, kausale Form übersetzt wird. Anstatt dazu formale Kriterien der Validität heranzuziehen, wird ein experimenteller Forschungsprozess ethnographisch begleitet.
Forschungsgegenstand ist ein Verhaltensexperiment aus der allgemeinen Psychologie zur Trainierbarkeit des Arbeitsgedächtnisses. Im Rahmen der Ethnographie werden teilnehmende Beobachtungen, Interviews und Dokumentensammlung kombiniert eingesetzt. Die Auswertung der Materialien erfolgt mithilfe der Situationsanalyse nach Clarke (2012), einer qualitativen Auswertungsmethode im Anschluss an die Grounded Theory.
In dieser Arbeit wird das Verhalten der Versuchsperson ins Zentrum gerückt, das die Messung in Gang setzt und hält und die Entstehung von zahlenförmigen Daten ermöglicht. Dazu wird in Orientierung an neueren Science & Technology Studies eine begriffliche Systematisierung der Experimentalpraxis aus dem empirischen Material herausgearbeitet, mit dem die Konstruktion und Transformation des Verhaltens der Versuchsperson im Verlauf des Datenerhebungs- Auswertungs- und Interpretationsprozesses beschrieben werden kann.
Die Ergebnisse der Ethnographie legen nahe, dass dieses Verhalten der Versuchsperson - korrespondierend zum kausal verfassten Endprodukt des Experiments - von der komplexen Erhebungssituation abhängig und paradoxerweise gleichzeitig unabhängig ist. Damit wird in Anlehnung an Latour (2002) zwischen konstruktivistischen und objektivistischen Positionen vermittelt. Zudem weisen die erforschten Praktiken die epistemische Stellung der Versuchsperson aus. Diese wird im Anschluss an die Terminologie von Rheinberger (2001/ 2006) als Mischform von epistemischem Ding (Neues) und technischem Ding (Bekanntes) bestimmt.
Die vorliegende Arbeit befasst sich damit, wie die spezifische Durchführung eines besonderen psychologischen Laborexperiments in eine allgemeine, kausale Form übersetzt wird. Anstatt dazu formale Kriterien der Validität heranzuziehen, wird ein experimenteller Forschungsprozess ethnographisch begleitet.
Forschungsgegenstand ist ein Verhaltensexperiment aus der allgemeinen Psychologie zur Trainierbarkeit des Arbeitsgedächtnisses. Im Rahmen der Ethnographie werden teilnehmende Beobachtungen, Interviews und Dokumentensammlung kombiniert eingesetzt. Die Auswertung der Materialien erfolgt mithilfe der Situationsanalyse nach Clarke (2012), einer qualitativen Auswertungsmethode im Anschluss an die Grounded Theory.
In dieser Arbeit wird das Verhalten der Versuchsperson ins Zentrum gerückt, das die Messung in Gang setzt und hält und die Entstehung von zahlenförmigen Daten ermöglicht. Dazu wird in Orientierung an neueren Science & Technology Studies eine begriffliche Systematisierung der Experimentalpraxis aus dem empirischen Material herausgearbeitet, mit dem die Konstruktion und Transformation des Verhaltens der Versuchsperson im Verlauf des Datenerhebungs- Auswertungs- und Interpretationsprozesses beschrieben werden kann.
Die Ergebnisse der Ethnographie legen nahe, dass dieses Verhalten der Versuchsperson - korrespondierend zum kausal verfassten Endprodukt des Experiments - von der komplexen Erhebungssituation abhängig und paradoxerweise gleichzeitig unabhängig ist. Damit wird in Anlehnung an Latour (2002) zwischen konstruktivistischen und objektivistischen Positionen vermittelt. Zudem weisen die erforschten Praktiken die epistemische Stellung der Versuchsperson aus. Diese wird im Anschluss an die Terminologie von Rheinberger (2001/ 2006) als Mischform von epistemischem Ding (Neues) und technischem Ding (Bekanntes) bestimmt.
Objectives: Within a randomized controlled trial contrasting the outcome of manualized cognitive-behavioral (CBT) and short term psychodynamic therapy (PDT) compared to a waiting list condition (the SOPHO-Net trial), we set out to test whether self-reported attachment characteristics change during the treatments and if these changes differ between treatments.
Research design and methods: 495 patients from the SOPHO-Net trial (54.5% female, mean age 35.2 years) who were randomized to either CBT, PDT or waiting list (WL) completed the partner-related revised Experiences in Close Relationships Questionnaire (ECR-R) before and after treatment and at 6 and 12 months follow-up. The Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) was administered at pre-treatment, post-treatment, and at 6-month and 1-year follow-up. ECR-R scores were first compared to a representative healthy sample (n = 2508) in order to demonstrate that the clinical sample differed significantly from the non-clinical sample with respect to attachment anxiety and avoidance.
Results: LSAS scores correlated significantly with both ECR-R subscales. Post-therapy, patients treated with CBT revealed significant changes in attachment anxiety and avoidance whereas patients treated with PDT showed no significant changes. Changes between post-treatment and the two follow-ups were significant in both conditions, with minimal (insignificant) differences between treatments at the 12- month follow-up.
Conclusions: The current study supports recent reviews of mostly naturalistic studies indicating changes in attachment as a result of psychotherapy. Although there were differences between conditions at the end of treatment, these largely disappeared during the follow-up period which is line with the other results of the SOPHO-NET trial.
Trial registration: Controlled-trials.com ISRCTN53517394
In the later stages of addiction, automatized processes play a prominent role in guiding drug-seeking and drug-taking behavior. However, little is known about the neural correlates of automatized drug-taking skills and drug-related action knowledge in humans. We employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while smokers and non-smokers performed an orientation affordance task, where compatibility between the hand used for a behavioral response and the spatial orientation of a priming stimulus leads to shorter reaction times resulting from activation of the corresponding motor representations. While non-smokers exhibited this behavioral effect only for control objects, smokers showed the affordance effect for both control and smoking-related objects. Furthermore, smokers exhibited reduced fMRI activation for smoking-related as compared to control objects for compatible stimulus-response pairings in a sensorimotor brain network consisting of the right primary motor cortex, supplementary motor area, middle occipital gyrus, left fusiform gyrus and bilateral cingulate gyrus. In the incompatible condition, we found higher fMRI activation in smokers for smoking-related as compared to control objects in the right primary motor cortex, cingulate gyrus, and left fusiform gyrus. This suggests that the activation and performance of deeply embedded, automatized drug-taking schemata employ less brain resources. This might reduce the threshold for relapsing in individuals trying to abstain from smoking. In contrast, the interruption or modification of already triggered automatized action representations require increased neural resources.
Objective: Worldwide, the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) represents the predominant viral agent causing bronchiolitis and pneumonia in children. To conduct research and tackle existing healthcare disparities, RSV-related research activities around the globe need to be described. Hence, we assessed the associated scientific output (represented by research articles) by geographical, chronological and socioeconomic criteria and analysed the authors publishing in the field by gender. Also, the 15 most cited articles and the most prolific journals were identified for RSV research.
Design: Retrospective, descriptive study.
Setting: The NewQIS (New Quality and Quantity Indices in Science) platform was employed to identify RSV-related articles published in the Web of Science until 2013. We performed a numerical analysis of all articles, and examined citation-based aspects (eg, citation rates); results were visualised by density equalising mapping tools.
Results: We identified 4600 RSV-related articles. The USA led the field; US-American authors published 2139 articles (46.5%% of all identified articles), which have been cited 83 000 times. When output was related to socioeconomic benchmarks such as gross domestic product or Research and Development expenditures, Guinea-Bissau, The Gambia and Chile were ranked in leading positions. A total of 614 articles on RSV (13.34% of all articles) were attributed to scientific collaborations. These were primarily established between high-income countries. The gender analysis indicated that male scientists dominated in all countries except Brazil.
Conclusions: The majority of RSV-related research articles originated from high-income countries whereas developing nations showed only minimal publication productivity and were barely part of any collaborative networks. Hence, research capacity in these nations should be increased in order to assist in addressing inequities in resource allocation and the clinical burden of RSV in these countries.
Sex differences in the relationship between conduct disorder and cortical structure in adolescents
(2017)
Objective: Previous studies have reported reduced cortical thickness and surface area and altered gyrification in frontal and temporal regions in adolescents with conduct disorder (CD). Although there is evidence that the clinical phenotype of CD differs between males and females, no studies have examined whether such sex differences extend to cortical and subcortical structure.
Method: As part of a European multisite study (FemNAT-CD), structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data were collected from 48 female and 48 male participants with CD and from 104 sex-, age-, and pubertal-status−matched controls (14–18 years of age). Data were analyzed using surface-based morphometry, testing for effects of sex, diagnosis, and sex-by-diagnosis interactions, while controlling for age, IQ, scan site, and total gray matter volume.
Results: CD was associated with cortical thinning and higher gyrification in ventromedial prefrontal cortex in both sexes. Males with CD showed lower, and females with CD showed higher, supramarginal gyrus cortical thickness compared with controls. Relative to controls, males with CD showed higher gyrification and surface area in superior frontal gyrus, whereas the opposite pattern was seen in females. There were no effects of diagnosis or sex-by-diagnosis interactions on subcortical volumes. Results are discussed with regard to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, depression, and substance abuse comorbidity, medication use, handedness, and CD age of onset.
Conclusion: We found both similarities and differences between males and females in CD–cortical structure associations. This initial evidence that the pathophysiological basis of CD may be partly sex-specific highlights the need to consider sex in future neuroimaging studies and suggests that males and females may require different treatments.
Background: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) related to childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is often associated with a wide range of trauma-related aversive emotions such as fear, disgust, sadness, shame, guilt, and anger. Intense experience of aversive emotions in particular has been linked to higher psychopathology in trauma survivors. Most established psychosocial treatments aim to reduce avoidance of trauma-related memories and associated emotions. Interventions based on Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) also foster radical acceptance of the traumatic event.
Methods: This study compares individual ratings of trauma-related emotions and radical acceptance between the start and the end of DBT for PTSD (DBT-PTSD) related to CSA. We expected a decrease in trauma-related emotions and an increase in acceptance. In addition, we tested whether therapy response according to the Clinician Administered PTSD-Scale (CAPS) for the DSM-IV was associated with changes in trauma-related emotions and acceptance. The data was collected within a randomized controlled trial testing the efficacy of DBT-PTSD, and a subsample of 23 women was included in this secondary data analysis.
Results: In a multilevel model, shame, guilt, disgust, distress, and fear decreased significantly from the start to the end of the therapy whereas radical acceptance increased. Therapy response measured with the CAPS was associated with change in trauma-related emotions.
Conclusions: Trauma-related emotions and radical acceptance showed significant changes from the start to the end of DBT-PTSD. Future studies with larger sample sizes and control group designs are needed to test whether these changes are due to the treatment.
Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00481000
Background: Recent studies have suggested substantial fluctuations of cognitive performance in adults both across and within days, but very little is known about such fluctuations in children. Children's sleep behavior might have an important influence on their daily cognitive resources, but so far this has not been investigated in terms of naturally occurring within-person variations in children's everyday lives.
Methods: In an ambulatory assessment study, 110 elementary school children (8–11 years old) completed sleep items and working memory tasks on smartphones several times per day in school and at home for 4 weeks. Parents provided general information about the children and their sleep habits.
Results: We identified substantial fluctuations in the children's daily cognitive performance, self-reported nightly sleep quality, time in bed, and daytime tiredness. All three facets were predictive of performance fluctuations in children's school and daily life. Sleep quality and time in bed were predictive of performance in the morning, and afternoon performance was related to current tiredness. The children with a lower average performance level showed a higher within-person coupling between morning performance and sleep quality.
Conclusions: Our findings contribute important insights regarding a potential source of performance fluctuations in children. The effect of varying cognitive resources should be investigated further because it might impact children's daily social, emotional, and learning-related functioning. Theories about children's cognitive and educational development should consider fluctuations on micro-longitudinal scales (e.g., day-to-day) to identify possible mechanisms behind long-term changes.
This study investigated associations between parenting stress in parents and self-reported stress in children with children's diurnal cortisol secretion and whether these associations are moderated by known stress-regulating capacities, namely child cognitive control. Salivary cortisol concentrations were assessed from awakening to evening on two weekend days from 53 6-to-7-year-old children. Children completed a cognitive control task and a self-report stress questionnaire with an experimenter, while parents completed a parenting stress inventory. Hierarchical, linear mixed effects models revealed that higher parenting stress was associated with overall reduced cortisol secretion in children, and this effect was moderated by cognitive control. Specifically, parenting stress was associated with reduced diurnal cortisol levels in children with lower cognitive control ability and not in children with higher cognitive control ability. There were no effects of self-reported stress in children on their cortisol secretion, presumably because 6-to-7-year-old children cannot yet self-report on stress experiences. Our results suggest that higher cognitive control skills may buffer the effects of parenting stress in parents on their children’s stress regulation in middle childhood. This could indicate that training cognitive control skills in early life could be a target to prevent stress-related disorders.
Magnitude processing is one of the most central cognitive mechanisms that underlie persistent mathematics difficulties. No consensus has yet been reached about whether these difficulties can be predominantly attributed to deficits in symbolic or nonsymbolic magnitude processing. To investigate this issue, we assessed symbolic and nonsymbolic magnitude representations in children with low or typical achievement in school mathematics. Response latencies and the distance effect were comparable between groups in both symbolic and nonsymbolic tasks. The results indicated that both typical and low achievers were able to access magnitude representation via symbolic and nonsymbolic processing. However, low achievers presented higher error rates than typical achievers, especially in the nonsymbolic task. Furthermore, measures of nonsymbolic magnitude explained individual differences in school mathematics better than measures of symbolic magnitude when considering all of the children together. When examining the groups separately, symbolic magnitude representation explained differences in school mathematics in low achievers but not in typical achievers. These results suggest that symbolic magnitude is more relevant to solving arithmetic problems when mathematics achievement is particularly low. In contrast, individual differences in nonsymbolic processing appear to be related to mathematics achievement in a more general manner.
Der Aufbau unserer Umwelt folgt bestimmten Regelmäßigkeiten, die für uns so selbstverständlich sind, dass wir ihrer kaum bewusst sind. Doch würden Sie die Milch unter dem Bett suchen oder das Kissen in der Badewanne? Wohl kaum. Die Psychologin Prof. Melissa Lê-Hoa Võ untersucht das erlernte Regelwerk, die Entwicklung von sogenanntem Szenenwissen, mithilfe psychophysischer Verfahren, Blickbewegungsund Hirnpotenzialmessungen.
Perfectionism nowadays is frequently understood as a multidimensional personality trait with two higher-order dimensions of perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns. While perfectionistic concerns are robustly found to correlate with negative outcomes and psychological malfunctioning, findings concerning the outcomes of perfectionistic strivings are inconsistent. There is evidence that perfectionistic strivings relate to psychological maladjustment on the one hand but to positive outcomes on the other hand as well. Moreover, perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns frequently showed substantial overlap. These inconsistencies of differential relations and the substantial overlap of perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns raise questions concerning the factorial structure of perfectionism and the meaning of its dimensions. In this study, several bifactor models were applied to disentangle the common variance of perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns at the item level using Hill et al.’s (2004) Perfectionism Inventory (PI). The PI measures a broad range of perfectionism dimensions by four perfectionistic strivings and four perfectionistic concerns subscales. The bifactor-(S – 1) model with one general factor defined by concern over mistakes as the reference facet, four specific perfectionistic strivings factors, and three specific perfectionistic concerns factors showed acceptable fit. The results revealed a clear separation between perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns, as the general factor represented concern over mistakes, while the perfectionistic strivings factors each explained a substantial amount of reliable variance independent of the general factor. As a result, factor scores of the specific perfectionistic strivings factors and the general factor had differential relationships with achievement motivation, neuroticism, conscientiousness, and self-efficacy that met with theoretical expectations, while results for manifest subscale scores were ambiguous. Our results question the existence of reliable sub-constructs of perfectionistic concerns independent of the general factor when defined by concern over mistakes.
Cognitive flexibility, the ability to flexibly switch between tasks, is a core dimension of executive functions (EFs) allowing to control actions and to adapt flexibly to changing environments. It supports the management of multiple tasks, the development of novel, adaptive behavior and is associated with various life outcomes. Cognitive flexibility develops rapidly in preschool and continuously increases well into adolescence, mirroring the growth of neural networks involving the prefrontal cortex. Over the past decade, there has been increasing interest in interventions designed to improve cognitive flexibility in children in order to support the many developmental outcomes associated with cognitive flexibility. This article provides a brief review of the development and plasticity of cognitive flexibility across early and middle childhood (i.e., from preschool to elementary school age). Focusing on interventions designed to improve cognitive flexibility in typically developing children, we report evidence for significant training and transfer effects while acknowledging that current findings on transfer are heterogeneous. Finally, we introduce metacognitive training as a promising new approach to promote cognitive flexibility and to support transfer of training.
General intelligence is a psychological construct that captures in a single metric the overall level of behavioural and cognitive performance in an individual. While previous research has attempted to localise intelligence in circumscribed brain regions, more recent work focuses on functional interactions between regions. However, even though brain networks are characterised by substantial modularity, it is unclear whether and how the brain’s modular organisation is associated with general intelligence. Modelling subject-specific brain network graphs from functional MRI resting-state data (N = 309), we found that intelligence was not associated with global modularity features (e.g., number or size of modules) or the whole-brain proportions of different node types (e.g., connector hubs or provincial hubs). In contrast, we observed characteristic associations between intelligence and node-specific measures of within- and between-module connectivity, particularly in frontal and parietal brain regions that have previously been linked to intelligence. We propose that the connectivity profile of these regions may shape intelligence-relevant aspects of information processing. Our data demonstrate that not only region-specific differences in brain structure and function, but also the network-topological embedding of fronto-parietal as well as other cortical and subcortical brain regions is related to individual differences in higher cognitive abilities, i.e., intelligence.
Facial Width-to-Height Ratio (fWHR) has been linked with dominant and aggressive behavior in human males. We show here that on portrait photographs published online, chief executive officers (CEOs) of companies listed in the Dow Jones stock market index and the Deutscher Aktienindex have a higher-than-normal fWHR, which also correlates positively with their company’s donations to charitable causes and environmental awareness. Furthermore, we show that leaders of the world’s most influential non-governmental organizations and even the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church, the popes, have higher fWHR compared to controls on public portraits, suggesting that the relationship between displayed fWHR and leadership is not limited to profit-seeking organizations. The data speak against the simplistic view that wider-faced men achieve higher social status through antisocial tendencies and overt aggression, or the mere signaling of such dispositions. Instead they suggest that high fWHR is linked with high social rank in a more subtle fashion in both competitive as well as prosocially oriented settings.
Previous research on working memory (WM) in children with poor mathematical skills has yielded heterogeneous results, possibly due to inconsistent consideration of the IQ-achievement discrepancy and additional reading and spelling difficulties. To examine the impact of both, the WM of 68 average-achieving and 68 low-achieving third-graders in mathematics was assessed. Preliminary analyses showed that poor mathematical skills were associated with poor WM. Afterwards, children with isolated mathematical difficulties were separated from those with additional reading and spelling difficulties. Half of each group fulfilled the IQ-achievement discrepancy, resulting in a 2 (additional reading and spelling difficulties: yes/no) by 2 (IQ-achievement discrepancy: yes/no) factorial design. Analyses revealed that not fulfilling the IQ achievement discrepancy was associated with poor visual WM, whereas additional reading and spelling difficulties were associated with poor central executive functioning in children fulfilling the IQ-achievement discrepancy. Therefore, WM in children with poor mathematical skills differs according to the IQ-achievement discrepancy and additional reading and spelling difficulties.
Objectives: This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of an Arabic version of the trait anger and anger expression scales of the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI).
Methods: This study took place between April 2005 and August 2014. Adults in Yemen (n = 334) and Tunisia (n = 200) were recruited from university campuses and a smoking cessation clinic, respectively. The STAXI was translated into Arabic using back-translation methods. An explanatory principal component analysis was conducted to explore the factor structure of the anger expression scale, utilising parallel analyses to determine the number of retained factors.
Results: Good internal consistency of the trait anger scale was observed among the Yemeni (Cronbach's alpha = 0.76) and Tunisian (Cronbach's alpha = 0.86) samples. The parallel analysis suggested a three-factor solution for the anger expression scale (anger in, anger out and anger control), in accordance with the original STAXI. The internal consistency of anger in, anger out and anger control factors ranged between 0.51-0.79 in the Yemeni sample and 0.66-0.81 in the Tunisian sample. Overall, items loaded on the anger control factor included all items proposed by the original authors and this factor had higher reliability than the other two factors in both samples.
Conclusion: The results of the current study provide initial support for the use of the trait anger and anger expression scales of the STAXI in Arabic-speaking countries.
Following up on earlier investigations, the present paper analyzes construct validity of the impostor phenomenon. It examines the question whether the impostor phenomenon is a homogeneous construct or whether different types of persons with impostor self-concept can be distinguished on the basis of related characteristics. The study was conducted with professionals in leadership positions exhibiting a pronounced impostor self-concept (n = 183). Cluster-analytic procedures indicated the existence of two different types: one group which, in line with the literature (e.g., Clance, 1985), possessed traits classified as fairly unfavorable (“true impostors”) and another group which can be described as largely unencumbered (“strategic impostors”). The present study suggests two types of impostorism: “True” impostors characterized by the negative self-views associated with the construct definition, and more “strategic” impostors who seem to be less encumbered by self-doubt. It is assumed that “strategic impostors” are characterized by a form of deliberate self-presentation. Therefore, the impostor self-concept cannot principally be viewed as a dysfunctional personality style. This distinction should be more carefully considered in further research and in therapeutic interventions.
We propose that resilience effectively helps people cope with stress, thus predominantly reducing the negative. However, we argue that individuals’ social identification has the potential to contribute to their well-being, thus fostering the positive. A two-wave survey study of 180 students shows that resilience is more strongly (negatively) associated with ill-health (i.e. stress and depression), whereas social identification is more strongly (positively) related to well-being (i.e. satisfaction and work engagement). We believe that it is necessary to see these two routes to improving people’s health as complementary, both in future research and for therapy and interventions.
E-Learning ist das Thema zahlreicher Debatten. Die Beiträge in diesem Buch zielen darauf ab, die Diskussion zu intensivieren und zu vertiefen. Dabei fokussieren die Autoren die Bereiche Hochschule und Weiterbildung als wichtige Einsatzgebiete von E-Learning, mit dem Ziel einer Verbindung beider Bereiche. Dies geschieht aus Sicht der Wirtschaftsinformatik, der Erziehungswissenschaft und der Wirtschaftspädagogik.
Die Autoren zeigen in ihren Beiträgen, wie pädagogische Gesichtspunkte mit Fragen der Organisation und der Informationstechnik verknüpft werden können und leiten daraus Einsatzchancen für E-Learning-Konzepte ab.
People know surprisingly little about their own visual behavior, which can be problematic when learning or executing complex visual tasks such as search of medical images. We investigated whether providing observers with online information about their eye position during search would help them recall their own fixations immediately afterwards. Seventeen observers searched for various objects in “Where's Waldo” images for 3 s. On two-thirds of trials, observers made target present/absent responses. On the other third (critical trials), they were asked to click twelve locations in the scene where they thought they had just fixated. On half of the trials, a gaze-contingent window showed observers their current eye position as a 7.5° diameter “spotlight.” The spotlight “illuminated” everything fixated, while the rest of the display was still visible but dimmer. Performance was quantified as the overlap of circles centered on the actual fixations and centered on the reported fixations. Replicating prior work, this overlap was quite low (26%), far from ceiling (66%) and quite close to chance performance (21%). Performance was only slightly better in the spotlight condition (28%, p = 0.03). Giving observers information about their fixation locations by dimming the periphery improved memory for those fixations modestly, at best.
The measurement of psychopathic personality traits via self-report has become an important tool in legal psychology. One prominent instrument is the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI; Lilienfeld and Andrews, 1996), a well-validated questionnaire that is widely applied in many countries. In Germany, it is the only questionnaire assessing psychopathic traits that is available from a publisher with a manual edited for easy administration. Nevertheless, the PPI shows certain shortcomings: the high number of 154 items makes it less economic, it was developed on a non-representative undergraduate sample, and studies revealed an inconsistent factor structure. To overcome these points, a new questionnaire, the Questionnaire of Psychopathic Personality Traits [German: Fragebogen Psychopathischer Persönlichkeitseigenschaften (FPP)] was developed. The sample consists of n = 132 civilians (56% female) and n = 173 inmates of German correctional facilities (30% female). The FPP comprises 30 items, whose wording was short and adequate for inmates. It shows satisfying psychometric properties regarding factorial structure, item properties, and reliability. Partial invariance regarding both subsamples allows for interpretation of latent means. Results supported validity such as associations with self-reported crime, and inmates’ misconduct. The factorial structure was cross-validated on a second sample of N = 517 participants (71% female) from an online study. The FPP is useful in large-scale research studies as well as for clinical settings, e.g., for treatment planning in correctional facilities.
Die "Digitalisierung" ist ein gesamtgesellschaftlicher und globaler Trend, der nahezu alle Bereiche der Lebens- und Arbeitswelt durchzieht und insofern auch das Studieren an (allen) Hochschulen betrifft. Das Schlagwort "Digitalisierung" verweist auch auf alle Varianten der Nutzung von digitalen Technologien im Bereich Studium und Lehre. Lange Zeit stand vor allem das E-Learning im Vordergrund der Diskussion und damit die Nutzung von digitalen Technologien im engeren Lehr-Lernkontext zur Unterstützung der Interaktion von Lehrenden und Studierenden. Heute werden an den Hochschulen zunehmend die weiteren Möglichkeiten der digitalen Technik für Studium und Lehre erkannt und immer mehr in der Praxis an Hochschulen genutzt: Von der Werbung um Studierende bis hin zur Ansprache von Alumni können sie die Qualität, die Leistungsfähigkeit, die Öffnung, Vermarktung und Internationalisierung der Hochschullehre unterstützen (Kerres 2013, Bischof und von Stuckrad 2013); und einige Hochschulen nutzen die Digitalisierung von Lehre und Studium zur Profilbildung und zur besseren Positionierung im nationalen und internationalen Wettbewerb zwischen Hochschulen. ...
Faces are thought to be processed primarily according to their configurations which is in-ferred from comparisons with non-facial stimuli. While the whole (face) seems to be more than the sum of its parts, the same does not apply to objects which are processed analytically according to their featural information. A recent recognition model stresses the importance of certain visual information within facial stimuli. By applying a specific filtering technique, stimuli can be generated that are restricted to contain information of only a certain orienta-tion. Dakin and Watt (2009) reported greatest recognition performance with faces that only contained horizontally aligned information with accuracy continuously declining at vertical. Furthermore, they showed that, compared with images of natural scenes, horizontal contours within faces have an unusual tendency to fall into vertically co-aligned clusters which were labelled biological ‘bar code’ referring to a highly constrained one-dimensional code. Con-secutive research tested for face-specific processing by comparing faces and objects that displayed information of different orientations. Results suggested configural processing only for faces that contained horizontal information (Goffaux & Dakin, 2010). The findings con-tribute important insight on a still unanswered question in face processing research: what information is extracted from faces for recognizing them. Despite the importance of remembering human faces on a daily basis, this ability seems to develop disadvantageously over lifetime. Decreased accuracy cannot be attributed to de-creased general cognitive ability (Hildebrandt, Wilhelm, Schmiedek, Herzmann, & Sommer, 2011) and slower reactions times are assumed to be a product of decision making rather than sensory speed (Habak, Wilkinson, & Wilson, 2008). Considering the amount of published work on face recognition, there is a lack of studies available assessing this important ability at a higher age. New theoretical concepts are rarely examined with older participants, appar-ently assuming their general validity. The current dissertation tries to help fill this gap by assessing the importance of horizontal information from a developmental perspective com-paring younger and older adults under different experimental variations. The first study showed, that presenting older participants with horizontally filtered faces has a dispropor-tional negative impact on recognizing younger unfamiliar faces suggesting differential pro-cessing mechanisms, since recognizing stimuli that only contained vertical information did not differ between age groups. On this basis, the following study manipulated the presented stimulus material, since some evidence suggests that own-age faces are more easily recog-nized compared to faces of other ages, which is referred to as “own-age bias”. Therefore, the second study systematically assessed the impact of stimulus age on recognition sensitivity. Moreover, encoding modalities were varied by providing increased exposure duration to the stimuli. The results of the first study were replicated, as older participants’ performance was still poor at recognizing younger faces, independent from encoding modalities. However, similar face recognition sensitivity compared to younger adults was observable when filtered faces of the older adults’ own age had to be recognized. Interestingly, correlations between recognizing filtered and unfiltered faces were obtained for younger adults but not for older adults suggesting age variant processing of horizontal information. The last study assessed the importance of horizontal information with stimulus material familiar to the observer. Although research highlights differences between recognizing unfamiliar and familiar stimu-lus material, this factor is often not considered by contemporary research. By presenting par-ticipants with their own faces, a stimulus of greatest individual familiarity was chosen. The superiority of own face recognition over other familiar material is referred to as “self-face advantage” and has been shown in comparison with personally familiar faces (Keyes & Brady, 2010) and famous faces (Caharel et al., 2002). While younger adults indeed recog-nized their self-faces better compared to famous faces independent from stimuli being fil-tered or unfiltered, older participants displayed a completely different pattern including the inability to recognize their filtered self-faces. Again, significant associations were obtained between filtered and unfiltered recognition conditions suggesting convergent processing mechanisms for younger adults but not for the older age group. This dissertation provides a first insight in the divergence of response behavior in older adults with a recent face processing model. While the obtained data undermine the im-portance of horizontal information in younger adults by replicating and extending previously published work, a profoundly different type of processing is suggested at a higher age which largely relies on low-level pictorial information due to the inability to process horizontally filtered faces configurally. Specifically, it is suggested that with age, focusing on aging-salient features with configural processing disrupted may function as a critical source of di-agnostic information which can ultimately result in performance similar to younger adults.
Einleitung: Ziel dieser Studie war es zu evaluieren, ob das Prüfungsformat einer OSPE (Objective Structured Practical Examination) durchgeführt im Fach Zahnerhaltungskunde (6. Fachsemester) den Studienerfolg im praktischen Teil des Staatsexamens (11. Fachsemester) im selben Fach prädiziert. Ferner sollte unter Berücksichtigung allgemeiner Angaben der StudienteilnehmerInnen (Abitursnote, Physikumsnote, Studiendauer, Kohorte und Geschlecht) analysiert werden, ob bezüglich der Gesamt- sowie Teilnoten der OSPE und der adäquaten Staatsexamensprüfung Zusammenhänge oder Unterschiede bestehen.
Methoden: Im Rahmen dieser longitudinalen, retrospektiven Studie wurden für einen Zeitraum von 11 Semestern prüfungsbezogene Daten von Studierenden (N=223) des Fachbereichs Zahnmedizin in Frankfurt am Main erhoben und untersucht. Für die statistische Auswertung der Daten wurden Spearman Rangkorrelationen, Partialkorrelationen, Korrelationskoeffizienten nach Pearson, und Multiple Regressionen (SPSS Statistics 21, IBM Corporation, New York) berechnet.
Ergebnisse: Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass OSPE (Cronbachs α=.87) mit dem Erfolg im praktischen Teil des Staatsexamens im Fach Zahnerhaltungskunde korreliert (p=.01, r=.17). Als eine weitere signifikante Korrelation mit der Examensleistung erwies sich die Dauer des Studiums (p=.001, r=.23). Gemeinsam leisten diese beiden Variablen einen signifikanten Beitrag zur Vorhersage der Examensnote (p=.001, R2=.076). Das zeigte sich im größeren Umfang bei weiblichen Studierenden. Zudem wurde festgestellt, dass diese bessere Abiturnoten als männliche Studierende aufweisen (F=6.09, p=.01, η2=.027) und dass es lediglich bei männlichen Studierenden eine signifikante Korrelation zwischen der Physikumsnote (Zahnärztliche Vorprüfung) und der OSPE-Benotung gab (r=.17, p=.01).
Schlussfolgerung: In der vorliegenden Untersuchung konnte der prädiktive Effekt einer klinischen OSPE auf die Prüfungsleistung im Staatsexamen gezeigt werden. Unter Berücksichtigung der Limitation der Studie empfiehlt sich aus unserer Sicht die Durchführung eines solchen Prüfungsformats im Rahmen des klinischen Studienabschnitts im 6. Semester im Fach Zahnmedizin.
Introduction: The aim of this study was to ascertain whether the testing format of an OSPE (Objective Structured Practical Examination) in conservative dentistry (sixth semester) predicts the scores on the practical section of the state examination (11th semester) in the same subject. Taking general student profiles into consideration (score on the school-leaving exam [Abitur], score on the preliminary exam in dental medicine [Physikum], length of university study, cohorts, and sex), we also investigated if any correlations or differences exist in regard to the total and partial scores on the OSPE and the corresponding state examination.
Methods: Within the scope of this longitudinal retrospective study, exam-specific data spanning 11 semesters for dental students (N=223) in Frankfurt am Main were collected and analyzed. Statistical analysis was carried out by calculating Spearman rank correlations, partial correlations, Pearson’s correlation coefficients, and multiple regressions (SPSS Statistics 21, IBM Corporation, New York).
Results: The results show that the OSPE (Cronbach’s α=.87) correlates with level of success on the practical section of the state exam in conservative dentistry (p=.01, r=.17). Length of university study also emerged to correlate significantly with the state exam score (p=.001, r=.23). Together, these two variables contribute significantly to predicting the state exam score (p=.001, R2=.076). This was seen extensively among female students. It was also discovered that these female students had higher school-leaving exam scores than male students (F=6.09, p=.01, η2=.027), and that a significant correlation between scores on the Physikum (preliminary exam in dental medicine) and OSPE scores existed only for male students (r=.17, p=.01).
Conclusion: This study was able to demonstrate the predictive effect of a clinical OSPE regarding scores achieved on the state exam. Taking the limitations of this study into account, we are able to recommend using the OSPE testing format in the sixth semester during the clinical phase of dental study.
Background: Highlighted text in the Internet (i.e., hypertext) is predominantly blue and underlined. The perceptibility of these hypertext characteristics was heavily questioned by applied research and empirical tests resulted in inconclusive results. The ability to recognize blue text in foveal and parafoveal vision was identified as potentially constrained by the low number of foveally centered blue light sensitive retinal cells. The present study investigates if foveal and parafoveal perceptibility of blue hypertext is reduced in comparison to normal black text during reading.
Methods: A silent-sentence reading study with simultaneous eye movement recordings and the invisible boundary paradigm, which allows the investigation of foveal and parafoveal perceptibility, separately, was realized (comparing fixation times after degraded vs. un-degraded parafoveal previews). Target words in sentences were presented in either black or blue and either underlined or normal.
Results: No effect of color and underlining, but a preview benefit could be detected for first pass reading measures. Fixation time measures that included re-reading, e.g., total viewing times, showed, in addition to a preview effect, a reduced fixation time for not highlighted (black not underlined) in contrast to highlighted target words (either blue or underlined or both).
Discussion: The present pattern reflects no detectable perceptual disadvantage of hyperlink stimuli but increased attraction of attention resources, after first pass reading, through highlighting. Blue or underlined text allows readers to easily perceive hypertext and at the same time readers re-visited highlighted words longer. On the basis of the present evidence, blue hypertext can be safely recommended to web designers for future use.
Aesthetic perception and judgement are not merely cognitive processes, but also involve feelings. Therefore, the empirical study of these experiences requires conceptualization and measurement of aesthetic emotions. Despite the long-standing interest in such emotions, we still lack an assessment tool to capture the broad range of emotions that occur in response to the perceived aesthetic appeal of stimuli. Elicitors of aesthetic emotions are not limited to the arts in the strict sense, but extend to design, built environments, and nature. In this article, we describe the development of a questionnaire that is applicable across many of these domains: the Aesthetic Emotions Scale (Aesthemos). Drawing on theoretical accounts of aesthetic emotions and an extensive review of extant measures of aesthetic emotions within specific domains such as music, literature, film, painting, advertisements, design, and architecture, we propose a framework for studying aesthetic emotions. The Aesthemos, which is based on this framework, contains 21 subscales with two items each, that are designed to assess the emotional signature of responses to stimuli’s perceived aesthetic appeal in a highly differentiated manner. These scales cover prototypical aesthetic emotions (e.g., the feeling of beauty, being moved, fascination, and awe), epistemic emotions (e.g., interest and insight), and emotions indicative of amusement (humor and joy). In addition, the Aesthemos subscales capture both the activating (energy and vitality) and the calming (relaxation) effects of aesthetic experiences, as well as negative emotions that may contribute to aesthetic displeasure (e.g., the feeling of ugliness, boredom, and confusion).
The effects of aging on response time were examined in a paper-based lexical-decision experiment with younger (age 18–36) and older (age 64–75) adults, applying Ratcliff’s diffusion model. Using digital pens allowed the paper-based assessment of response times for single items. Age differences previously reported by Ratcliff and colleagues in computer-based experiments were partly replicated: older adults responded more conservatively than younger adults and showed a slowing of their nondecision components of RT by 53 ms. The rates of evidence accumulation (drift rate) showed no age-related differences. Participants with a higher score in a vocabulary test also had higher drift rates. The experiment demonstrates the possibility to use formal processing models with paper-based tests.
Depth hermeneutics—as developed by LORENZER within the framework of the Frankfort School's program of critical social research—represents a methodological and systematic approach to psychoanalytic research. The new ways and means by which a neo-Nazi utilises his visit to the Auschwitz Memorial to arouse further anti-Semitism are to be investigated by means of a scene-by-scene interpretation of his filmed appearances—first as a good-mooded tourist, then as a volatile right-wing extremist, as competent expert, and as rebellious adolescent. The aim is to demonstrate how the meaning of these role plays develops within the tension between a manifest and a latent significance. The results of this process of interpretations form the basis for clarifying the question: what patterns of socialisation are used by this "yuppie-neo-Nazi" to fascinate particularly adolescents?? In conclusion, the way in which through his post-modern film-production the producer turns Auschwitz into a test-ground where the neo-Nazi can do "a merry dance on the volcano", is analysed.
Mit der von LORENZER begründeten Tiefenhermeneutik wird eine methodologisch und methodisch reflektierte Methode psychoanalytischer Forschung vorstellt, die im Rahmen der kritischen Sozialforschung der Frankfurter Schule entwickelt wurde. Die neue Art und Weise, wie ein Neonazi einen Besuch der Gedenkstätte Auschwitz dazu benutzt, um einen neuen Antisemitismus zu erzeugen, soll durch eine szenische Interpretation seiner medialen Auftritte als gut gelaunter Tourist, als zorniger Rechtsextremist, als sachlicher Experte und als trotziger Jugendlicher untersucht werden: Es wird zu zeigen sein, wie sich die Bedeutung dieser Rollenspiele in der Spannung zwischen einem manifesten und einem latenten Sinn entfaltet. Die Ergebnisse dieses Interpretationsprozesses bilden die Grundlage für die theoretische Klärung der Frage, welcher Sozialisationsmuster dieser "Yuppie-Nazi" sich bedient, um vor allem Jugendliche zu faszinieren. Schließlich soll analysiert werden, wie der Regisseur durch eine postmoderne Inszenierung Auschwitz als Testgelände zur Verfügung stellt, auf dem der Neonazi einen "fröhlichen Tanz auf dem Vulkan" aufführen kann.
Wolfgang KÖHLER's Monographie über das Verstehen einer Person als eines Individuums ist ein Versuch, den in der Alltagssprache undifferenziert gebrauchten Begriff des Fremdverstehens sowie den des Selbstverstehens, wie er in Aussagen wie "Maria versteht ihren Mann" oder "Ich verstehe mich selbst nicht mehr" vorkommt, durch eine philosophische Reflexion zu differenzieren. Durch diese Reflexion wird gezeigt, dass der Verstehensbegriff auf drei verschiedene Weisen gebraucht wird: mit dem Anspruch eines Wissens, eines Könnens und eines Fühlens. Es ergibt sich, dass das Verstehen der eigenen wie der fremden Person im Sinne eines Wissens eine Ausnahme bildet, zumal dieses Wissen in einer mehr oder weniger poetischen Beschreibung darzustellen ist. Der Normalfall des Verstehens einer Person als eines unverwechselbaren Individuums besteht dagegen in einem Können oder Fühlen – und verdient damit gar nicht, ein "Verstehen" genannt zu werden im Sinne eines Wissens, wer jemand und wer man selbst ist. Das Buch erlaubt es, kritisch zu prüfen, welche hohen Ansprüche an die Versuche zu stellen sind, andere Personen, aber auch sich selbst zu verstehen. KÖHLER bleibt dabei eng an seinem lebensweltlichen Gegenstand und klärt im besten Sinne über das Verstehen von Personen auf.
Human beings are assumed to possess an approximate number system (ANS) dedicated to extracting and representing approximate numerical magnitude information. The ANS is assumed to be fundamental to arithmetic learning and has been shown to be associated with arithmetic performance. It is, however, still a matter of debate whether better arithmetic skills are reflected in the ANS. To address this issue, Chinese and German adults were compared regarding their performance in simple arithmetic tasks and in a non-symbolic numerical magnitude comparison task. Chinese participants showed a better performance in solving simple arithmetic tasks and faster reaction times in the non-symbolic numerical magnitude comparison task without making more errors than their German peers. These differences in performance could not be ascribed to differences in general cognitive abilities. Better arithmetic skills were thus found to be accompanied by a higher speed of retrieving non-symbolic numerical magnitude knowledge but not by a higher precision of non-symbolic numerical magnitude representations. The group difference in the speed of retrieving non-symbolic numerical magnitude knowledge was fully mediated by the performance in arithmetic tasks, suggesting that arithmetic skills shape non-symbolic numerical magnitude processing skills.
Expression, perception and recognition of intense emotions in healthy and depressed individuals
(2017)
Die Fähigkeit die Gefühle anderer zu erkennen und einzuordnen ermöglicht es soziale Situationen richtig einzuschätzen und soziale Beziehungen aufzubauen. Da Emotionen also in unserem Leben eine wichtige Rolle spielen, kann eine Dysregulation der Emotionsverarbeitung auch zu elementaren Einschränkungen führen. Menschen, die unter depressiven Episoden leiden, durchleben beispielsweise regelmäßig Phasen intensiver und anhaltender Traurigkeit. Jedoch ist noch nicht vollständig erklärt, wie es zu dieser verzerrten Emotionswahrnehmung kommt. Diese Dissertation hatte deshalb das Ziel, den Ausdruck, die Wahrnehmung und das Erkennen extremer Emotionen genauer zu beleuchten.
In Studie 1 wurden der Ausdruck und das Erkennen extremer Emotionen untersucht.
Hierbei dienten aus dem Internet bezogene Videosequenzen von Kindern und Erwachsenen als Basis, in denen diese sich in Situationen befanden, die sie extrem negative oder extrem positive Emotionen durchleben ließen. Die Gesichtsausdrücke der Kinder und Erwachsenen wurden dann zum Zeitpunkt der stärksten emotionalen Erregung in ein Bild umgewandelt und von unabhängigen Ratern auf ihre Valenz und ihr Arousal eingeschätzt. Es wurde beobachtet, dass - entgegen der Vorhersage etablierter Emotionstheorien (z.B. Ekman, 1993) – Emotionen hoher positiver und negativer Intensität schwer auseinander zu halten sind. Tatsächlich wurden positive Emotionsausdrücke häufig als negativ eingeschätzt. Eine mögliche Erklärung dafür liefern Aragón und Kollegen (2015). Sie schätzen den Ausdruck negativer Emotionen in positiven Situationen als Emotionsregulationsstrategie ein, die dazu dient ein emotionales Equilibrium wieder herzustellen, das durch die überwältigenden positiven Emotionen aus dem Gleichgewicht gebracht wurde.
In Studie 2 und 3 wurde die Wahrnehmung negativer Emotionen bei depressiven Menschen im Vergleich zu gesunden Kontrollprobanden auf subjektiver und physiologischer Ebene untersucht. Hierbei wurde zunächst im Rahmen von Studie 2 untersucht, ob Parameter des autonomen Nervensystems (ANS) sich zwischen depressiven und gesunden Probanden unterscheiden. ANS-Parameter umfassten Hormone (Cortisol und DHEA), Herzratenvariabilität (HRV), Hautleitfähigkeit (GSR), Hauttemperatur (TEMP) und Atemfrequenz (RSP). Es konnten erhöhte DHEA-Werte, eine erhöhte Hauttemperatur und eine reduzierte Atemfrequenz in der Patientengruppe gefunden werden. Eine erhöhte Hauttemperatur korrelierte zudem mit der Ausprägung depressiver Symptome und der aktuellen Stimmung. Reduzierte HRV-Werte wurden hauptsächlich auf antidepressive Medikation zurückgeführt.
In Studie 3 wurde dann die Reaktion der Probanden auf emotionsevozierende Stimuli verschiedener Valenzkategorien (neutral, leicht negative, hoch negative) untersucht. Hierbei wurden sowohl physiologische Parameter (TEMP, HRV, GSR, RSP) als auch die subjektive Einschätzung der Stimuli bezüglich ihrer Valenz und ihres Arousal erhoben. Die Befunde bezüglich Hauttemperatur und HRV-Werte aus Studie 2 konnten in Studie 3 repliziert
werden. Zudem zeigte sich eine akzentuierte Reaktion der RSP sowie höhere Valenz- und Arousalratings in der Patientengruppe. Das subjektiv intensivere Empfinden der Stimuli bei den Patienten hing zusätzlich mit emotionaler und sozialer Kompetenz zusammen.
In dieser Dissertation konnte gezeigt werden, dass Ausdrücke intensiver Emotionen im Gesicht oft als zweideutig wahrgenommen werden. Um ein genaueres Verständnis der Emotionswahrnehmung bei depressiven Menschen zu erlangen, konnten zudem mehrere Parameter des ANS identifiziert werden, die teils noch nicht untersucht wurden und einer intensiveren Emotionswahrnehmung bei depressiven Patienten zugrunde liegen könnten.
Hierbei wurden zusätzlich Zusammenhänge zu weiteren Aspekten der Depression, wie Defiziten in sozialen Kompetenzen, aufgezeigt. Damit gibt diese Dissertation umfassende Aufschlüsse über Emotionsverarbeitungsprozesse bei gesunden und depressiven Menschen.
BACKGROUND: Time-limited, early-life exposures to institutional deprivation are associated with disorders in childhood, but it is unknown whether effects persist into adulthood. We used data from the English and Romanian Adoptees study to assess whether deprivation-associated adverse neurodevelopmental and mental health outcomes persist into young adulthood.
METHODS: The English and Romanian Adoptees study is a longitudinal, natural experiment investigation into the long-term outcomes of individuals who spent from soon after birth to up to 43 months in severe deprivation in Romanian institutions before being adopted into the UK. We used developmentally appropriate standard questionnaires, interviews completed by parents and adoptees, and direct measures of IQ to measure symptoms of autism spectrum disorder, inattention and overactivity, disinhibited social engagement, conduct or emotional problems, and cognitive impairment (IQ score <80) during childhood (ages 6, 11, and 15 years) and in young adulthood (22-25 years). For analysis, Romanian adoptees were split into those who spent less than 6 months in an institution and those who spent more than 6 months in an institution. We used a comparison group of UK adoptees who did not experience deprivation. We used mixed-effects regression models for ordered-categorical outcome variables to compare symptom levels and trends between groups.
FINDINGS: Romanian adoptees who experienced less than 6 months in an institution (n=67 at ages 6 years; n=50 at young adulthood) and UK controls (n=52 at age 6 years; n=39 at young adulthood) had similarly low levels of symptoms across most ages and outcomes. By contrast, Romanian adoptees exposed to more than 6 months in an institution (n=98 at ages 6 years; n=72 at young adulthood) had persistently higher rates than UK controls of symptoms of autism spectrum disorder, disinhibited social engagement, and inattention and overactivity through to young adulthood (pooled p<0·0001 for all). Cognitive impairment in the group who spent more than 6 months in an institution remitted from markedly higher rates at ages 6 years (p=0·0001) and 11 years (p=0·0016) compared with UK controls, to normal rates at young adulthood (p=0·76). By contrast, self-rated emotional symptoms showed a late-onset pattern with minimal differences versus UK controls at ages 11 years (p=0·0449) and 15 years (p=0·17), and then marked increases by young adulthood (p=0·0005), with similar effects seen for parent ratings. The high deprivation group also had a higher proportion of people with low educational achievement (p=0·0195), unemployment (p=0·0124), and mental health service use (p=0·0120, p=0·0032, and p=0·0003 for use when aged <11 years, 11-14 years, and 15-23 years, respectively) than the UK control group. A fifth (n=15) of individuals who spent more than 6 months in an institution were problem-free at all assessments.
INTERPRETATION: Notwithstanding the resilience shown by some adoptees and the adult remission of cognitive impairment, extended early deprivation was associated with long-term deleterious effects on wellbeing that seem insusceptible to years of nurturance and support in adoptive families.
FUNDING: Economic and Social Research Council, Medical Research Council, Department of Health, Jacobs Foundation, Nuffield Foundation.
Background: Previous magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) research suggests that, prior to the onset of psychosis, high risk youths already exhibit brain abnormalities similar to those present in patients with schizophrenia.
Objectives: The goal of the present study was to describe the functional organization of endogenous activation in young adolescents who report auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) in view of the “distributed network” hypothesis of psychosis. We recruited 20 young people aged 13–16 years who reported AVHs and 20 healthy controls matched for age, gender and handedness from local schools.
Methods: Each participant underwent a semi-structured clinical interview and a resting state (RS) neuroimaging protocol. We explored functional connectivity (FC) involving three different networks: 1) default mode network (DMN) 2) salience network (SN) and 3) central executive network (CEN). In line with previous findings on the role of the auditory cortex in AVHs as reported by young adolescents, we also investigated FC anomalies involving both the primary and secondary auditory cortices (A1 and A2, respectively).
Further, we explored between-group inter-hemispheric FC differences (laterality) for both A1 and A2. Compared to the healthy control group, the AVH group exhibited FC differences in all three networks investigated. Moreover, FC anomalies were found in a neural network including both A1 and A2. The laterality analysis revealed no between-group, inter-hemispheric differences.
Conclusions: The present study suggests that young adolescents with subclinical psychotic symptoms exhibit functional connectivity anomalies directly and indirectly involving the DMN, SN, CEN and also a neural network including both primary and secondary auditory cortical regions.
Haben Vorurteile einen Sinn? In der Entwicklungsgeschichte des Menschen vermutlich schon, um Freund und Feind unterscheiden zu können. Aber in der heutigen globalen, wenn auch komplexeren Welt ist es wichtig zu wissen, warum Vorurteile entstehen und welche Gruppenprozesse dahinterstecken. Die Sozialpsychologie kann seit den 1950er Jahren auf eine Vielzahl von Experimenten verweisen – mit spannenden Ergebnissen. Eines lautet: Je mehr Kontakt Menschen aus unterschiedlichen Gruppen miteinander haben, desto geringer sind auch die Vorurteile.
Multi-scale entropy (MSE) has been recently established as a promising tool for the analysis of the moment-to-moment variability of neural signals. Appealingly, MSE provides a measure of the predictability of neural operations across the multiple time scales on which the brain operates. An important limitation in the application of the MSE to some classes of neural signals is MSE's apparent reliance on long time series. However, this sparse-data limitation in MSE computation could potentially be overcome via MSE estimation across shorter time series that are not necessarily acquired continuously (e.g., in fMRI block-designs). In the present study, using simulated, EEG, and fMRI data, we examined the dependence of the accuracy and precision of MSE estimates on the number of data points per segment and the total number of data segments. As hypothesized, MSE estimation across discontinuous segments was comparably accurate and precise, despite segment length. A key advance of our approach is that it allows the calculation of MSE scales not previously accessible from the native segment lengths. Consequently, our results may permit a far broader range of applications of MSE when gauging moment-to-moment dynamics in sparse and/or discontinuous neurophysiological data typical of many modern cognitive neuroscience study designs.
Der vorliegende Band dokumentiert die Erhebungsinstrumente, die im BilWiss-Forschungsprogramm in den Erhebungen der folgenden Projektphasen zum Einsatz kamen: BilWiss („Bildungswissenschaftliches Wissen und der Erwerb professioneller Kompetenz in der Lehramtsausbildung“; 2009–2013), gefördert vom Programm des Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung „Entwicklung von Professionalität des pädagogischen Personals in Bildungseinrichtungen (ProPäda)“ unter dem Förderkennzeichen 01 JH 0910, und BilWiss-Beruf („Die Bedeutung des bildungswissenschaftlichen Hochschulwissens für den Berufseinstieg von Lehrkräften“; 2013–2016), gefördert vom BMBF Förderprogramm „Kompetenzmodellierung und Kompetenzerfassung im Hochschulsektor (KoKoHs)“ unter dem Förderkennzeichen 01 PK1 1007. Das Forschungsprogramm ist ein Verbundprojekt der Goethe-Universität Frankfurt (M. Kunter), der Universität Duisburg-Essen (D. Leutner), der Westfälischen Wilhelms-Universität Münster (E. Terhart), des Max-Planck-Instituts für Bildungsforschung (J. Baumert, nur Projektphase BilWiss) und der Technischen Universität München (T. Seidel, nur Projektphase BilWiss-Beruf).
Das Forschungsprogramm zielt darauf ab, zu untersuchen, inwieweit angehende Lehrkräfte durch das Studium der Bildungswissenschaften unterstützt werden, mit den vielfältigen Herausforderungen ihres Berufs professionell umzugehen. Die zentrale Annahme dabei ist, dass konzeptuelles Wissen über bildungswissenschaftliche Inhalte die professionelle Entwicklung im Vorbereitungsdienst und im Berufseinstieg unterstützt. Die Grundhypothese des Projekts lautet:
Bildungswissenschaftliche Inhalte und Zusammenhänge stellen einen begrifflichen Rahmen dar, den Lehrkräfte benötigen, um Unterrichts- und Schulereignisse angemessen zu interpretieren, zu reflektieren und so für die eigene Kompetenzentwicklung zu nutzen.
Um dies zu prüfen wurde im Rahmen des Forschungsprogramms ein standardisiertes Testinstrument zur Erfassung des bildungswissenschaftlichen Wissens entwickelt und in einer Vollerhebung von angehenden Lehrkräften zu Beginn des Vorbereitungsdienstes (n = 3298) an allen Studienseminaren in Nordrhein-Westfalen (NRW) eingesetzt. Um die Annahme zur Bedeutsamkeit des bildungswissenschaftlichen Wissens für die professionelle Entwicklung empirisch zu prüfen, wurde ein Teil dieser Lehramtsanwärter(innen) im Laufe des Vorbereitungsdienstes längsschnittlich begleitet, dabei wurden mehrfach das bildungswissenschaftliche Wissen und weitere Aspekte der professionellen Kompetenz sowie verschiedene Indikatoren des professionellen Verhaltens und beruflichen Erlebens erfasst. Die Erhebungszeitpunkte im Längsschnitt fanden ein Jahr nach dem Beginn des Vorbereitungsdienstes (n = 362), am Ende des Vorbereitungsdienstes (n = 284) und ca. zwei Jahre nach Berufseinstieg (n = 101) statt.
Die zeitliche Überschneidung des BilWiss-Projekts mit der Einführung eines reformierten Vorbereitungsdienstes im Rahmen der 2009 beschlossenen Neuerungen in der Lehrerbildung im Land NRW eröffnete zudem die Möglichkeit, die differenzielle Entwicklung der angehenden Lehrkräfte aufgrund unterschiedlicher Lerngelegenheiten in einer quasi-experimentellen Feldstudie empirisch zu untersuchen. Hierfür wurde zusätzlich zur oben bereits beschriebenen Kohorte, die sich im 24-monatigen Vorbereitungsdienst befand (Kohorte 1), eine weitere Kohorte in die Befragung einbezogen, die den reformierten verkürzten, 18-monatigen Vorbereitungsdienst absolviert (Kohorte 2). Die beiden Kohorten angehender Lehrkräfte stiegen zu verschiedenen Zeitpunkten in den Vorbereitungsdienst ein (Kohorte 1 = Anfang 2011; Kohorte 2 = Ende 2011), beendeten diesen jedoch durch die Verkürzung des Vorbereitungs-dienstes zu einem ähnlichen Zeitpunkt (Anfang 2013). Auch die Daten der Kohorte 2 wurde zu Beginn (n = 511) und Ende des Vorbereitungsdienstes (n = 386), sowie ca. zwei Jahre nach dem Berufseinstieg (n = 104) erhoben.
Weiterführende Informationen zum theoretischen Ansatz der Studie und Ergebnissen der Studie können der Internetseite http://www.bilwiss.uni-frankfurt.de sowie den unten aufgeführten Publikationen entnommen werden.
Thyroid hormone is a crucial regulator of gene expression in the developing and adult retina. Here we sought to map sites of thyroid hormone signaling at the cellular level using the transgenic FINDT3 reporter mouse model in which neurons express β-galactosidase (β-gal) under the control of a hybrid Gal4-TRα receptor when triiodothyronine (T3) and cofactors of thyroid receptor signaling are present. In the adult retina, nearly all neurons of the ganglion cell layer (GCL, ganglion cells and displaced amacrine cells) showed strong β-gal labeling. In the inner nuclear layer (INL), a minority of glycineric and GABAergic amacrine cells showed β-gal labeling, whereas the majority of amacrine cells were unlabeled. At the level of amacrine types, β-gal labeling was found in a large proportion of the glycinergic AII amacrines, but only in a small proportion of the cholinergic/GABAergic ‘starburst’ amacrines. At postnatal day 10, there also was a high density of strongly β-gal-labeled neurons in the GCL, but only few amacrine cells were labeled in the INL. There was no labeling of bipolar cells, horizontal cells and Müller glia cells at both stages. Most surprisingly, the photoreceptor somata in the outer nuclear layer also showed no β-gal label, although thyroid hormone is known to control cone opsin expression. This is the first record of thyroid hormone signaling in the inner retina of an adult mammal. We hypothesize that T3 levels in photoreceptors are below the detection threshold of the reporter system. The topographical distribution of β-gal-positive cells in the GCL follows the overall neuron distribution in that layer, with more T3-signaling cells in the ventral than the dorsal half-retina.
A variety of joint action studies show that people tend to fall into synchronous behavior with others participating in the same task, and that such synchronization is beneficial, leading to greater rapport, satisfaction, and performance. It has been noted that many of these task environments require simple interactions that involve little planning of action coordination toward a shared goal. The present study utilized a complex joint construction task in which dyads were instructed to build model cars while their hand movements and heart rates were measured. Participants built these models under varying conditions, delimiting how freely they could divide labor during a build session. While hand movement synchrony was sensitive to the different tasks and outcomes, the heart rate measure did not show any effects of interpersonal synchrony. Results for hand movements show that the more participants were constrained by a particular building strategy, the greater their behavioral synchrony. Within the different conditions, the degree of synchrony was predictive of subjective satisfaction and objective product outcomes. However, in contrast to many previous findings, synchrony was negatively associated with superior products, and, depending on the constraints on the interaction, positively or negatively correlated with higher subjective satisfaction. These results show that the task context critically shapes the role of synchronization during joint action, and that in more complex tasks, not synchronization of behavior, but rather complementary types of behavior may be associated with superior task outcomes.
Scientometric results on publication trends in clinical psychology, which refer to publication type and methodology of case studies/reports, are presented. Absolute and relative frequencies of clinical case studies are identified for the segment “mental and behavioral disorders” in MEDLINE (ICD-10 Chapter V [F]) as well as for clinical psychology publications documented in PsycINFO and PSYNDEX in 40 publication years (1975-2014). Results show an increase of the absolute number of published case studies documented in MEDLINE and PsycINFO (but not in PSYNDEX), which is highly correlated with the total increase of clinical psychology publications in both databases. Relative frequencies show another picture, namely a drop of the percentage of case studies on mental and behavioral disorders in MEDLINE, and a sharp drop in PSYNDEX since the 1980s. The trend for the relative frequency of case studies within all publications on clinical psychology documented in PsycINFO is V-shaped with 6% in the 1970s, 3% in the early 1990s, and 4-5% after the millennium. Pros and cons of case studies in clinical psychology research and education are discussed. Qualitative and quantitative case study methodologies are distinguished with respect to the phases of clinical trials and observational studies in evidence-based and empirically supported psychotherapy. Subsequently, methodological constraints are balanced with specific values in clinical training, applied research, and innovative research on the symptomatology, etiology, and classification of mental disorders as well as on combined and/or integrative treatment techniques and methods.
Different types of altruistic behavior, namely help-giving, altruistic punishment, and moral courage, are identifiable and distinguishable in the literature, but little is known how they relate to each other. This is significant because understanding altruism and other-regarding behavior is important in the attempt to solve global problems of overpopulation and depletion of natural resources. Understanding the helping forms of altruism (help-giving and sharing) can be helpful, for example, when designing donation collections or recruiting volunteers. Understanding the punitive forms of altruism (moral courage and altruistic punishment) gives valuable insight on individuals participating in campaigns where there is a need to take action, for example, against polluters or governments that violate human rights. The empirical evidence presented in this dissertation demonstrate individual and cultural differences in help-giving, altruistic punishment, and morally courageous behavior. The willingness to engage in the three types of altruistic behaviors relate differently to subjectively preferred thinking style and to personality traits, both in real-life and on the Internet. The divergencies are observable between Eastern (Indian) and Western (German) cultures, where the overlap of oneself and other individuals is experienced in different levels.
Self-narratives of patients have received increasing interest in schizophrenia since they offer unique material to study patients’ subjective experience related to their illness, in particular the alteration of self that accompanies schizophrenia. In this study, we investigated the life narratives and the ability to integrate and bind memories of personal events into a coherent narrative in 27 patients with schizophrenia and 26 controls. Four aspects of life narratives were analyzed: coherence with cultural concept of biography, temporal coherence, causal-motivational coherence and thematic coherence. Results showed that in patients cultural biographical knowledge is preserved, whereas temporal coherence is partially impaired. Furthermore, causal-motivational and thematic coherence are significantly impaired: patients have difficulties explaining how events have modeled their identity, and integrating different events along thematic lines. Impairment of global causal-motivational and thematic coherence was significantly correlated with patients’ executive dysfunction, suggesting that cognitive impairment observed in patients could affect their ability to construct a coherent narrative of their life by binding important events to their self. This study provides new understanding of the cognitive deficits underlying self-disorders in patients with schizophrenia. Our findings suggest the potential usefulness of developing new therapeutic interventions to improve autobiographical reasoning skills.
Die Dissertation befasst sich mit den kognitiven Prozessen die Intelligenz ausmachen und ist in drei Teile aufgeteilt. Der erste Teil rezensiert den Beitrag kognitiver und nicht-kognitiver Variablen zur Vorhersage von Hochbegabung in einer Altersspanne die von der Geburt bis zur Einschulung reicht. Aus dem nicht-kognitiven Bereich stammen Konstrukte wie Schlafverhalten, motivationale Faktoren wie Neugier und Interesse, und deren Interaktion mit dem sozialen Umfeld. Kognitive Variablen stellen frühe, außergewöhnliche Sprach-, Lese-, Schreib- und Rechenfähigkeiten dar, sowie Intelligenzquotienten, die mit den gängigsten testpsychologischen Verfahren ermittelt werden, und Komponenten der Informationsverarbeitung wie Habituation und Arbeitsgedächtnis. Trotz der Berichte über mittlere Korrelation ist die aktuelle Datenlage kritisch zu betrachten und weist eine niedrige Vorhersagevalidität der Frühprognose von Hochbegabung auf. Es wird mit dem dynamischen Modell der Intelligenz argumentiert, nach dem die mangelnde prognostische Validität und die Unzuverlässigkeit der kognitiven Vorhersageindikatoren auf die Annahme zurückzuführen sind, dass kognitive Prozesse unabhängig voneinander sind. Erst im Laufe des Lebens werden diese immer häufiger miteinander verknüpft und korreliert (Mutualismus). Das bedeutet, es findet eine zunehmende Integration kognitiver Prozesse statt und daraus resultiert der g-Faktor.
Doch das Arbeitsgedächtnis spielt weiterhin eine zentrale Rolle in Bezug auf Intelligenz, wenn nicht im Säuglingsalter, dann zumindest ab dem Vorschulalter und besonders im Erwachsenenalter. Arbeitsgedächtniskapazität stellt das Ausmaß an Fähigkeit dar, Informationen simultan zu speichern und zu verarbeiten, ohne die Notwendigkeit auf Vorwissen zurückzugreifen. Es kann damit als eng umschriebener kognitiver Prozess aufgefasst werden. Vorherige Forschungsarbeiten haben bereits deutlich gezeigt, dass Arbeitsgedächtnis und Intelligenz korrelativ stark zusammenhängen. Das ist durchaus überraschend, denn die Aufgaben und Tests mit denen die Konstrukte jeweils erfasst werden können sich oberflächlich stark unterscheiden. Um fluide Intelligenz valide erfassen zu können, sind Aufgaben zum induktiven Denken, wie zum Beispiel Matrix-Aufgaben, sehr beliebt. Im Rahmen der zweiten Arbeit hat man sich dem Einfluss der Prozesse Zielmanagement und Regel-Induktion auf den Zusammenhang zwischen Arbeitsgedächtnis und Problemlösung der Matrix-Aufgaben gewidmet. Zielmanagement wurde bereits zuvor mit dem Arbeitsgedächtnis in Verbindung gebracht jedoch war die Befundlage hinsichtlich der Regel-Induktion unklar. Daher sollte die Hypothese ob Regel-Induktion unabhängig vom Arbeitsgedächtnis ist, in einem kritischen Experiment überprüft werden. Bei Neutralisierung der Notwendigkeit für Regelinduktion, indem den Probanden die Regeln im Voraus erklärt wurden, konnte man einen erhöhten Zusammenhang zwischen dem Arbeitsgedächtnis und der Leistung in der Matrix-Aufgabe erkennen. Das deutete in der Tat darauf hin, dass Regel-Induktion nicht vom Arbeitsgedächtnis abhängig ist, zumindest nicht im gleichen Maße wie Zielmanagement. Darüber hinaus zeigte sich: Die Kenntnis der Regeln beeinflusst den Problemlöseprozess. Eye-Tracking-Messungen weisen auf eine konstruktive Anpassungsstrategie in der Experimentalbedingung (mit Regelwissen) hin. Basierend auf den Erkenntnissen aus vier Experimenten, wird mit zwei möglichen Mechanismen argumentiert, die die Steigerung des Zusammenhangs zwischen Arbeitsgedächtnis und Matrix-Problemlösen in der Experimentalgruppe erklären könnten.
Alternativ zur zuvor angenommenen Unabhängigkeit von Regel-Induktion und Arbeitsgedächtnis, könnte die erhöhte Korrelation bei bekannten Regeln auch mit der beobachteten Strategieänderung erklärbar sein. Die dritte und letzte Arbeit widmete sich deshalb erneut dieser Fragestellung. Erneut kamen Matrix-Aufgaben zum Einsatz und es wurden Testleistung, Augenbewegung und Reaktionszeiten erhoben, um den Einfluss von Regelwissen zu erfassen. Es zeigte sich die Anwendung einer effektiveren Lösungsstrategie in der Experimentalbedingung. Anhand der Eye-Tracking Messung wurde gezeigt, dass Probanden mit Regelwissen über einen längeren Zeitraum das problemrelevante Areal der Matrix-Aufgabe fixieren, und eine niedrigere Frequenz an Sakkaden zwischen diesem Areal und den Antwortalternativen aufwiesen.
Weitere Einflussvariablen auf die Lösestrategie stellen Schwierigkeit der Aufgabe und Fähigkeiten des Probanden dar. Diese weisen einen differenziellen Einfluss auf zwei Subgruppen von Indikatoren der Augenbewegungsmessung auf, die in Relation zu den Reaktionszeiten gesetzt wurden um ein besseres Verständnis dieser Variablen zu erzielen. Es wird vermutet, dass Variablen wie Augenbewegungen und Reaktionszeiten das Ausmaß des Entstehens von mentalen Modellen während des logischen Denkens widerspiegeln. Unter der Annahme dass die Komplexität von Mentalen Modellen mit einer gewissen Belastung für das Arbeitsgedächtnis einhergeht, lassen sich auch vorherige Ergebnisse mit dieser Hypothese in Einklang bringen. Abschließend werden die grundlegenden kognitiven Prozesse des induktiven Denkens diskutiert und ein Ausblick auf zukünftige Intelligenzmessung angeboten.
This study examined the effects of a school-based instrumental training program on the development of verbal and visual memory skills in primary school children. Participants either took part in a music program with weekly 45 min sessions of instrumental lessons in small groups at school, or they received extended natural science training. A third group of children did not receive additional training. Each child completed verbal and visual memory tests three times over a period of 18 months. Significant Group by Time interactions were found in the measures of verbal memory. Children in the music group showed greater improvements than children in the control groups after controlling for children’s socio-economic background, age, and IQ. No differences between groups were found in the visual memory tests. These findings are consistent with and extend previous research by suggesting that children receiving music training may benefit from improvements in their verbal memory skills.
When reading conflicting science-related texts, readers may attend to cues which allow them to assess plausibility. One such plausibility cue is the use of graphs in the texts, which are regarded as typical of ‘hard science’. The goal of our study was to investigate the effects of the presence of graphs on the perceived plausibility and situation model strength for conflicting science-related texts, while including the influence of readers’ domain knowledge and their knowledge about scientific visualization conventions as potential moderators of these effects. In an experiment mimicking web-based informal learning, 77 university students read texts on controversial scientific issues which were presented with either graphs or tables. Perceived plausibility and situation model strength for each text were assessed immediately after reading; reader variables were assessed several weeks prior to the experiment proper. The results suggest that graphs can indeed serve as plausibility cues and thus boost situation model strength for texts which contain them. This effect was mediated by the perceived plausibility of the information in the texts with graphs. However, whether readers use graphs as plausibility cues in texts with conflicting information seems to depend also on their amount of experience with scientific texts and graphs.
Even though extensively investigated, the nature of working memory (WM) deficits in patients with schizophrenia (PSZ) is not yet fully understood. In particular, the contribution of different WM sub-processes to the severe WM deficit observed in PSZ is a matter of debate. So far, most research has focused on impaired WM maintenance. By analyzing different types of errors in a spatial delayed response task (DRT), we have recently demonstrated that incorrect yet confident responses (which we labeled as false memory errors) rather than incorrect/not-confident responses reflect failures of WM encoding, which was also impaired in PSZ. In the present study, we provide further evidence for a functional dissociation between confident and not-confident errors by manipulating the demands on WM maintenance, i.e., the length over which information has to be maintained in WM. Furthermore, we investigate whether these functionally distinguishable WM processes are impaired in PSZ. Twenty-four PSZ and 24 demographically matched healthy controls (HC) performed a spatial DRT in which the length of the delay period was varied between 1, 2, 4, and 6 s. In each trial, participants also rated their level of response confidence. Across both groups, longer delays led to increased rates of incorrect/not-confident responses, while incorrect/confident responses were not affected by delay length. This functional dissociation provides additional support for our proposal that false memory errors (i.e., confident errors) reflect problems at the level of WM encoding, while not-confident errors reflect failures of WM maintenance. Schizophrenic patients showed increased numbers of both confident and not-confident errors, suggesting that both sub-processes of WM—encoding and maintenance—are impaired in schizophrenia. Combined with the delay length-dependent functional dissociation, we propose that these impairments in schizophrenic patients are functionally distinguishable.
From an early understanding of organisational theorist (Bartlett & Ghosal, 1989; 1990), the function of global teams in transnational organisations has been conceptualised as the transformation of different embedded cultural practices for the development of a global strategy, products and services. Simultaneously, in the field, from the beginning of the 1990ies to the edge of the new millennium neo-liberal political developments enforced a free flow of capital on a global level (cf. Turner, 2006). In line with the development of respective connectivity via the internet the form of globally distributed team work was spread (Maznevski & Chudoba, 2000). In a study by Biggs (2000), published just after the millennial change, it was shown that 60% of tasks in multinational companies are accomplished by virtual teams. More recent data (Society for Human Resource Management, 2012) showed that the prevalence of such teams stayed more or less constant in the last 10 years. According to the survey 66% of companies are working with distributed global teams.
Globally distributed teams were already described by Bartlett and Ghosal (1989) in their functions of articulation and translation of differing market practices for the integration of requirements and needs on a global level. From a European perspective the importance to further develop innovation capabilities in order to compete in the global market is stressed today (Imp3rove, 2012). In a globalised economy not only the big multinational companies are involved in globally distributed research and development activities (R&D). On the level SMEs, for example, in Switzerland the involvement in global development processes is increasing (Gassmann, 2009). From my own experiences in working with Swiss SMEs, the macro-economic processes in regard to the strong Swiss Franc may accelerate such processes. Thus, the form of globally distributed teams, and their functional task in global development processes, can be viewed as highly relevant, in a globalised economy.
The crucial question for companies at the moment is, if teams can be enabled for innovative project work, which enables the integration of diverging perspectives in a globally distributed setting? Or, if such teams have to be collocated for more innovative, interdependent task work? Requirements for integrating embedded knowledge from different regionally defined clusters into global innovations at least, seems to indicate for the relevance of interdependent globally distributed team work (cf. Li, Eden, Hitt, Ireland, & Garrett, 2012). Bilateral practices of partnering, for example in the Swiss pharmaceutical sector, lead to the integration of selected subsidiaries in the R&D process of the company (Festel et al., 2010). Thus, the form of dispersion for project teams becomes more critical for effective global R&D practices (Boyer O’Leary & Cummings, 2007). So called partially distributed teams integrating balanced subgroups between two sites, hence, become an important subject of inquiry with practical relevance.
The context of partially distributed team work represents by virtue a context involving multiple perspectives influenced by the involvement of actors stemming from different cultural contexts (Dekker, Rutte, & Van den Berg, 2008). It thereby provides the synergetic potential for integrating different perspectives in the resolution of complex problems on a global level (Janssens & Brett, 2006). Simultaneously, cultural diversity engenders challenges for collaboration. Challenges, like different understandings and interpretations regarding tasks, the structuring of communication (Maznevski & Chudoba, 2000) and unexpected events occurring in the collaboration between the actors (Dekker et al., 2008; Oertel & Antoni, 2014) were identified in respective empirical studies.
Opportunities and challenges of partially distributed global teams can be compared with the problematic of face-to-face (f2f) teams with a moderate amount of diversity. Studies have shown (see Thatcher & Patel, 2011 for a meta-analysis) that when the distribution of diversity characteristics is aligned to potentially form culture specific subgroups, so-called diversity faultlines (Lau & Murnighan, 1998), negative subgroup dynamics are reinforced.
To achieve the above mentioned synergetic potentials it seems important to effectively cope with such negative dynamics and allow for a balanced participation in partially distributed teams (Janssens & Brett, 2006). In the research on faultline teams, especially the structuring of task-related interdependences across respective subgroups has been identified as an important impediment for the mentioned subgroup dynamics. Task interdependences, which cross functional roles across respective group faultlines (Bettencourt, Molix, Talley, & Eubanks, 2007; Marcus-Newhall, Miller, Holtz, & Brewer, 1993), are able to unlock the inherent potentials of globally distributed teams on more complex tasks that require the integration of different perspectives. From a work group diversity perspective (van Knippenberg & Schippers, 2007), partially distributed global teams represent a research object for studying the interaction between social categorisation processes involved in the above mentioned subgroup dynamics, and processes of task-related information processing required for innovative team outputs. The exploration of effects of task structures on the interaction between categorisation processes and task-related information processing (van Knippenberg et al., 2004), will be in the main explorative research focus of this thesis. The research thesis represents a heuristic explorative inquiry (Kleining & Witt, 2001) of respective dynamics and structural as well as process-related enablers.
The thesis starts with the theoretical part, in which the historical development of the understanding of teams as open, complex and temporally dynamic systems (Arrow et al., 2005, 2000), will be outlined. A sound definition of partially distributed global teams, including the respective contextual characteristics will be delineated. In a sensitizing framework (Blumer, 1954) which guided the explorative research process, the central boundary condition of task interdependence (Wageman, 2001) and respective episodic theories for explaining global task-related dynamics in teams (Marks et al., 2001), the dynamics of social categorisation (Gaertner, Dovidio, Anastasio, Bachman, & Rust, 1993; Gaertner & Dovidio, 2000), as well as the interaction between social categorisation processes and task-related information processing will be integrated (van Knippenberg et al., 2004). According to the framework, empirical studies on effects of task interdependence on interactions between task-related information processing and social categorisation processes will be addressed (van Knippenberg et al., 2004).
The empirical part of the contribution will be split in two parts. In the first heuristic exploratory study eleven partially distributed global teams are followed up during the time of relevant innovation projects. The approach allowed the study of task interdependence, productive interactions with social categorisation processes and there effects on team innovation. In the second empirical step, the developed hypotheses, were tested in an experimental simulation (Arrow et al., 2005, 2000) in undergraduate courses.
As a conclusion of the two exploratory studies, an episodic team process model will be outlined. The model specifies interdependence dynamics, which allows for team innovation. Furthermore, on a process level, the episodic categorisation-elaboration model (van Knippenberg et al., 2004) proposes three critical team performance episodes. Dynamics in the interplay between task-related information processing and social categorisation processes allow for the development of hypothesis for further research projects. Finally the implications for theory and the practical relevance of the heuristic model will be discussed.