@article{TjadenDunsch2021, author = {Tjaden, Jasper Dag and Dunsch, Felipe Alexander}, title = {The effect of peer-to-peer risk information on potential migrants}, series = {World development : the multi-disciplinary international journal devoted to the study and promotion of world development}, volume = {145}, journal = {World development : the multi-disciplinary international journal devoted to the study and promotion of world development}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0305-750X}, doi = {10.1016/j.worlddev.2021.105488}, pages = {13}, year = {2021}, abstract = {In response to mounting evidence on the dangers of irregular migration from Africa to Europe, the number of information campaigns which aim to raise awareness about the potential risks has rapidly increased. Governments, international organizations and civil society organizations implement a variety of campaigns to counter the spread of misinformation accelerated by smuggling and trafficking networks. The evidence on the effects of such information interventions on potential migrants remains limited and largely anecdotal. More generally, the role of risk perceptions in the decision-making process of potential irregular migrants is rarely explicitly tested, despite the fact that the concept of risk pervades conventional migration models, particularly in the field of economics. We address this gap by assessing the effects of a peer-to-peer information intervention on the perceptions, knowledge and intentions of potential migrants in Dakar, Senegal, using a randomized controlled trial design. The results show that - three months after the intervention - peer-to-peer information events increase potential migrants' subjective information levels, raise risk awareness, and reduce intentions to migrate irregularly. We find no substantial effects on factual migration knowledge. We discuss how the effects may be driven by the trust and identification-enhancing nature of peer-to-peer communication.
(c) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.}, language = {en} } @article{BaltaBeylergilBeckDesernoetal.2017, author = {Balta Beylergil, Sinem and Beck, Anne and Deserno, Lorenz and Lorenz, Robert C. and Rapp, Michael Armin and Schlagenhauf, Florian and Heinz, Andreas and Obermayer, Klaus}, title = {Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex contributes to the impaired behavioral adaptation in alcohol dependence}, series = {NeuroImage: Clinical : a journal of diseases affecting the nervous system}, volume = {15}, journal = {NeuroImage: Clinical : a journal of diseases affecting the nervous system}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Oxford}, issn = {2213-1582}, doi = {10.1016/j.nicl.2017.04.010}, pages = {80 -- 94}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Substance-dependent individuals often lack the ability to adjust decisions flexibly in response to the changes in reward contingencies. Prediction errors (PEs) are thought to mediate flexible decision-making by updating the reward values associated with available actions. In this study, we explored whether the neurobiological correlates of PEs are altered in alcohol dependence. Behavioral, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were simultaneously acquired from 34 abstinent alcohol-dependent patients (ADP) and 26 healthy controls (HC) during a probabilistic reward-guided decision-making task with dynamically changing reinforcement contingencies. A hierarchical Bayesian inference method was used to fit and compare learning models with different assumptions about the amount of task-related information subjects may have inferred during the experiment. Here, we observed that the best-fitting model was a modified Rescorla-Wagner type model, the "double-update" model, which assumes that subjects infer the knowledge that reward contingencies are anti-correlated, and integrate both actual and hypothetical outcomes into their decisions. Moreover, comparison of the best-fitting model's parameters showed that ADP were less sensitive to punishments compared to HC. Hence, decisions of ADP after punishments were loosely coupled with the expected reward values assigned to them. A correlation analysis between the model-generated PEs and the fMRI data revealed a reduced association between these PEs and the BOLD activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) of ADP. A hemispheric asymmetry was observed in the DLPFC when positive and negative PE signals were analyzed separately. The right DLPFC activity in ADP showed a reduced correlation with positive PEs. On the other hand, ADP, particularly the patients with high dependence severity, recruited the left DLPFC to a lesser extent than HC for processing negative PE signals. These results suggest that the DLPFC, which has been linked to adaptive control of action selection, may play an important role in cognitive inflexibility observed in alcohol dependence when reinforcement contingencies change. Particularly, the left DLPFC may contribute to this impaired behavioral adaptation, possibly by impeding the extinction of the actions that no longer lead to a reward.}, language = {en} } @article{FatfoutaMeshiMerkletal.2016, author = {Fatfouta, Ramzi and Meshi, Dar and Merkl, Angela and Heekeren, Hauke R.}, title = {Accepting unfairness by a significant other is associated with reduced connectivity between medial prefrontal and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex}, series = {Social Neuroscience}, volume = {13}, journal = {Social Neuroscience}, number = {1}, publisher = {Routledge, Taylor \& Francis Group}, address = {Abingdon}, issn = {1747-0919}, doi = {10.1080/17470919.2016.1252795}, pages = {61 -- 73}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Conflict is a ubiquitous feature of interpersonal relationships, yet many of these relationships preserve their value following conflict. Our ability to refrain from punishment despite the occurrence of conflict is a characteristic of human beings. Using a combination of behavioral and neuroimaging techniques, we show that prosocial decision-making is modulated by relationship closeness. In an iterated social exchange, participants were more likely to cooperate with their partner compared to an unknown person by accepting unfair exchanges. Importantly, this effect was not influenced by how resources were actually being shared with one's partner. The medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) was activated when the partner, rather than the unknown person, behaved unfairly and, in the same context, the MPFC demonstrated greater functional connectivity with the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (DACC). MPFC-DACC connectivity was inversely associated with participants' tendency to "forgive" their partner for unfairness as well as performance outside the scanner on a behavioral measure of forgiveness. We conclude that relationship closeness modulates a neural network comprising the MPFC/DACC during economic exchanges.}, language = {en} } @article{SeboldGarbusowJetzschmannetal.2019, author = {Sebold, Miriam Hannah and Garbusow, Maria and Jetzschmann, P. and Schad, Daniel and Nebe, S. and Schlagenhauf, Florian and Heinz, A. and Rapp, Michael Armin and Romanczuk-Seiferth, Nina}, title = {Reward and avoidance learning in the context of aversive environments and possible implications for depressive symptoms}, series = {Psychopharmacology}, volume = {236}, journal = {Psychopharmacology}, number = {8}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {New York}, issn = {0033-3158}, doi = {10.1007/s00213-019-05299-9}, pages = {2437 -- 2449}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Background Aversive stimuli in the environment influence human actions. This includes valence-dependent influences on action selection, e.g., increased avoidance but decreased approach behavior. However, it is yet unclear how aversive stimuli interact with complex learning and decision-making in the reward and avoidance domain. Moreover, the underlying computational mechanisms of these decision-making biases are unknown. Methods To elucidate these mechanisms, 54 healthy young male subjects performed a two-step sequential decision-making task, which allows to computationally model different aspects of learning, e.g., model-free, habitual, and model-based, goal-directed learning. We used a within-subject design, crossing task valence (reward vs. punishment learning) with emotional context (aversive vs. neutral background stimuli). We analyzed choice data, applied a computational model, and performed simulations. Results Whereas model-based learning was not affected, aversive stimuli interacted with model-free learning in a way that depended on task valence. Thus, aversive stimuli increased model-free avoidance learning but decreased model-free reward learning. The computational model confirmed this effect: the parameter lambda that indicates the influence of reward prediction errors on decision values was increased in the punishment condition but decreased in the reward condition when aversive stimuli were present. Further, by using the inferred computational parameters to simulate choice data, our effects were captured. Exploratory analyses revealed that the observed biases were associated with subclinical depressive symptoms. Conclusion Our data show that aversive environmental stimuli affect complex learning and decision-making, which depends on task valence. Further, we provide a model of the underlying computations of this affective modulation. Finally, our finding of increased decision-making biases in subjects reporting subclinical depressive symptoms matches recent reports of amplified Pavlovian influences on action selection in depression and suggests a potential vulnerability factor for mood disorders. We discuss our findings in the light of the involvement of the neuromodulators serotonin and dopamine.}, language = {en} } @article{SeboldDesernoNebeetal.2014, author = {Sebold, Miriam Hannah and Deserno, Lorenz and Nebe, Stefan and Schad, Daniel and Garbusow, Maria and Haegele, Claudia and Keller, Juergen and Juenger, Elisabeth and Kathmann, Norbert and Smolka, Michael N. and Rapp, Michael Armin and Schlagenhauf, Florian and Heinz, Andreas and Huys, Quentin J. M.}, title = {Model-based and model-free decisions in alcohol dependence}, series = {Neuropsychobiology : international journal of experimental and clinical research in biological psychiatry, pharmacopsychiatry, Biological Psychology/Pharmacopsychology and Pharmacoelectroencephalography}, volume = {70}, journal = {Neuropsychobiology : international journal of experimental and clinical research in biological psychiatry, pharmacopsychiatry, Biological Psychology/Pharmacopsychology and Pharmacoelectroencephalography}, number = {2}, publisher = {Karger}, address = {Basel}, issn = {0302-282X}, doi = {10.1159/000362840}, pages = {122 -- 131}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Background: Human and animal work suggests a shift from goal-directed to habitual decision-making in addiction. However, the evidence for this in human alcohol dependence is as yet inconclusive. Methods: Twenty-six healthy controls and 26 recently detoxified alcohol-dependent patients underwent behavioral testing with a 2-step task designed to disentangle goal-directed and habitual response patterns. Results: Alcohol-dependent patients showed less evidence of goal-directed choices than healthy controls, particularly after losses. There was no difference in the strength of the habitual component. The group differences did not survive controlling for performance on the Digit Symbol Substitution Task. Conclusion: Chronic alcohol use appears to selectively impair goal-directed function, rather than promoting habitual responding. It appears to do so particularly after nonrewards, and this may be mediated by the effects of alcohol on more general cognitive functions subserved by the prefrontal cortex.}, language = {en} } @article{Schwarz2011, author = {Schwarz, Wolfgang}, title = {Compensating tendencies in penalty kick decisions of referees in professional football evidence from the German Bundesliga 1963-2006}, series = {Journal of sports sciences}, volume = {29}, journal = {Journal of sports sciences}, number = {5}, publisher = {Routledge, Taylor \& Francis Group}, address = {Abingdon}, issn = {0264-0414}, doi = {10.1080/02640414.2010.538711}, pages = {441 -- 447}, year = {2011}, abstract = {Using a large representative database (12,902 matches from the top professional football league in Germany), I show that the number (441) of two-penalty matches is larger than expected by chance, and that among these 441 matches there are considerably more matches in which each team is awarded one penalty than would be expected on the basis of independent penalty kick decisions (odds ratio=11.2, relative risk=6.34). Additional analyses based on the score in the match before a penalty is awarded and on the timing of penalties, suggest that awarding a first penalty to one team raises the referee's penalty evidence criterion for the same team, and lowers the corresponding criterion for the other team.}, language = {en} } @article{JeltschBlaumBroseetal.2013, author = {Jeltsch, Florian and Blaum, Niels and Brose, Ulrich and Chipperfield, Joseph D. and Clough, Yann and Farwig, Nina and Geissler, Katja and Graham, Catherine H. and Grimm, Volker and Hickler, Thomas and Huth, Andreas and May, Felix and Meyer, Katrin M. and Pagel, J{\"o}rn and Reineking, Bj{\"o}rn and Rillig, Matthias C. and Shea, Katriona and Schurr, Frank Martin and Schroeder, Boris and Tielb{\"o}rger, Katja and Weiss, Lina and Wiegand, Kerstin and Wiegand, Thorsten and Wirth, Christian and Zurell, Damaris}, title = {How can we bring together empiricists and modellers in functional biodiversity research?}, series = {Basic and applied ecology : Journal of the Gesellschaft f{\"u}r {\"O}kologie}, volume = {14}, journal = {Basic and applied ecology : Journal of the Gesellschaft f{\"u}r {\"O}kologie}, number = {2}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Jena}, issn = {1439-1791}, doi = {10.1016/j.baae.2013.01.001}, pages = {93 -- 101}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Improving our understanding of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning and our capacity to inform ecosystem management requires an integrated framework for functional biodiversity research (FBR). However, adequate integration among empirical approaches (monitoring and experimental) and modelling has rarely been achieved in FBR. We offer an appraisal of the issues involved and chart a course towards enhanced integration. A major element of this path is the joint orientation towards the continuous refinement of a theoretical framework for FBR that links theory testing and generalization with applied research oriented towards the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. We further emphasize existing decision-making frameworks as suitable instruments to practically merge these different aims of FBR and bring them into application. This integrated framework requires joint research planning, and should improve communication and stimulate collaboration between modellers and empiricists, thereby overcoming existing reservations and prejudices. The implementation of this integrative research agenda for FBR requires an adaptation in most national and international funding schemes in order to accommodate such joint teams and their more complex structures and data needs.}, language = {en} }