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Institute
- Department Psychologie (113) (remove)
To provide further insight into stress generation patterns in boys and girls around puberty, this study investigated longitudinal reciprocal relations between depressive symptoms, dysfunctional attitudes, and stress generation, the process by which individuals contribute to the occurrence of stress in interpersonal contexts (e.g., problematic social interactions) or in noninterpersonal contexts (e.g., achievement problems). A community sample of N = 924 German children and early adolescents (51.8% male) completed depressive symptoms and dysfunctional attitudes measures at T1 and again 20 months later (T2). Stressful life events were reported at T2. Dysfunctional attitudes were unrelated to stress generation. Interpersonal, but not noninterpersonal, dependent stress partially mediated the relationship between initial and later depressive symptoms, with girls being more likely to generate interpersonal stress in response to depressive symptoms. Findings underscore the role of interpersonal stress generation in the early development of depressive symptomatology, and in the gender difference in depression prevalence emerging around puberty.
On the ambiguity of interaction and nonlinear main effects in a regime of dependent covariates
(2017)
The analysis of large experimental datasets frequently reveals significant interactions that are difficult to interpret within the theoretical framework guiding the research. Some of these interactions actually arise from the presence of unspecified nonlinear main effects and statistically dependent covariates in the statistical model. Importantly, such nonlinear main effects may be compatible (or, at least, not incompatible) with the current theoretical framework. In the present literature, this issue has only been studied in terms of correlated (linearly dependent) covariates. Here we generalize to nonlinear main effects (i.e., main effects of arbitrary shape) and dependent covariates. We propose a novel nonparametric method to test for ambiguous interactions where present parametric methods fail. We illustrate the method with a set of simulations and with reanalyses (a) of effects of parental education on their children’s educational expectations and (b) of effects of word properties on fixation locations during reading of natural sentences, specifically of effects of length and morphological complexity of the word to be fixated next. The resolution of such ambiguities facilitates theoretical progress.
Towards identifying dyslexia in Standard Indonesian: the development of a reading assessment battery
(2017)
Psychometric evaluation of the German version of the Intuitive Eating Scale-2 in a community sample
(2017)
Depressive symptoms have been related to anxious rejection sensitivity, but little is known about relations with angry rejection sensitivity and justice sensitivity. We measured rejection sensitivity, justice sensitivity, and depressive symptoms in 1,665 9-to-21-year olds at two points of measurement. Participants with high T1 levels of depressive symptoms reported higher anxious and angry rejection sensitivity and higher justice sensitivity than controls at T1 and T2. T1 rejection, but not justice sensitivity predicted T2 depressive symptoms; high victim justice sensitivity, however, added to the stabilization of depressive symptoms. T1 depressive symptoms positively predicted T2 anxious and angry rejection and victim justice sensitivity. Hence, sensitivity toward negative social cues may be cause and consequence of depressive symptoms and requires consideration in cognitive-behavioral treatment of depression.
As an emerging sub-field of music information retrieval (MIR), music imagery information retrieval (MIIR) aims to retrieve information from brain activity recorded during music cognition-such as listening to or imagining music pieces. This is a highly interdisciplinary endeavor that requires expertise in MIR as well as cognitive neuroscience and psychology. The OpenMIIR initiative strives to foster collaborations between these fields to advance the state of the art in MIIR. As a first step, electroencephalography (EEG) recordings ofmusic perception and imagination have beenmade publicly available, enabling MIR researchers to easily test and adapt their existing approaches for music analysis like fingerprinting, beat tracking or tempo estimation on this new kind of data. This paper reports on first results of MIIR experiments using these OpenMIIR datasets and points out how these findings could drive new research in cognitive neuroscience.
BackgroundDisruptions of reading processes due to text substitutions can measure how readers use lexical information. MethodsWith eye-movement recording, children and adults viewed sentences with either identical, orthographically similar, homophonic or unrelated substitutions of the first characters in target words. To the extent that readers rely on orthographic or phonological cues, substitutions that contain such cues should cause less disruption reading than do unrelated substitutions. ResultsOn pretarget words, there was a reliable reduction in gaze duration due to homophonic substitution only for children. On target words, we observed reliable recovery effects due to orthographic similarity for adults. On post-target words, adults had better orthographic-based and phonological-based recovery abilities than children. ConclusionsThe combination of eye movement recording and the error detection paradigm offers a novel implicit paradigm for studying reading development: during sentence reading, beginning readers of Chinese may rely on phonological mediation, while skilled readers have more direct access to semantics from orthography.
Cognitive or executive control is a critical mental ability, an important marker of mental illness, and among the most heritable of neurocognitive traits. Two candidate genes, catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) and DRD4, which both have a roles in the regulation of cortical dopamine, have been consistently associated with cognitive control. Here, we predicted that individuals with the COMT Met/Met allele would show improved response execution and inhibition as indexed by event-related potentials in a Go/NoGo task, while individuals with the DRD4 7-repeat allele would show impaired brain activity. We used independent component analysis (ICA) to separate brain source processes contributing to high-density EEG scalp signals recorded during the task. As expected, individuals with the DRD4 7-repeat polymorphism had reduced parietal P3 source and scalp responses to response (Go) compared to those without the 7-repeat. Contrary to our expectation, the COMT homozygous Met allele was associated with a smaller frontal P3 source and scalp response to response-inhibition (NoGo) stimuli, suggesting that while more dopamine in frontal cortical areas has advantages in some tasks, it may also compromise response inhibition function. An interaction effect emerged for P3 source responses to Go stimuli. These were reduced in those with both the 7-repeat DRD4 allele and either the COMT Val/Val or the Met/Met homozygous polymorphisms but not in those with the heterozygous Val/Met polymorphism. This epistatic interaction between DRD4 and COMT replicates findings that too little or too much dopamine impairs cognitive control. The anatomic and functional separated maximally independent cortical EEG sources proved more informative than scalp channel measures for genetic studies of brain function and thus better elucidate the complex mechanisms in psychiatric illness.
We describe the Multilanguage Written Picture Naming Dataset. This gives trial-level data and time and agreement norms for written naming of the 260 pictures of everyday objects that compose the colorized Snodgrass and Vanderwart picture set (Rossion & Pourtois in Perception, 33, 217-236, 2004). Adult participants gave keyboarded responses in their first language under controlled experimental conditions (N = 1,274, with subsamples responding in Bulgarian, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish). We measured the time to initiate a response (RT) and interkeypress intervals, and calculated measures of name and spelling agreement. There was a tendency across all languages for quicker RTs to pictures with higher familiarity, image agreement, and name frequency, and with higher name agreement. Effects of spelling agreement and effects on output rates after writing onset were present in some, but not all, languages. Written naming therefore shows name retrieval effects that are similar to those found in speech, but our findings suggest the need for cross-language comparisons as we seek to understand the orthographic retrieval and/or assembly processes that are specific to written output.
This article introduces a new theory, the Affective-Reflective Theory (ART) of physical inactivity and exercise. ART aims to explain and predict behavior in situations in which people either remain in a state of physical inactivity or initiate action (exercise). It is a dual-process model and assumes that exercise-related stimuli trigger automatic associations and a resulting automatic affective valuation of exercise (type-1 process). The automatic affective valuation forms the basis for the reflective evaluation (type-2 process), which can follow if self-control resources are available. The automatic affective valuation is connected with an action impulse, whereas the reflective evaluation can result in action plans. The two processes, in constant interaction, direct the individual towards or away from changing behavior. The ART of physical inactivity and exercise predicts that, when there is an affective-reflective discrepancy and self-control resources are low, behavior is more likely to be governed by the affective type-1 process. This introductory article explains the underlying concepts and main theoretical roots from which the ART of physical inactivity and exercise was developed (field theory, affective responses to exercise, automatic evaluation, evaluation-behavior link, dual-process theorizing). We also summarize the empirical tests that have been conducted to refine the theory in its present form.
Using a standard repeated measures model with arbitrary true score distribution and normal error variables, we present some fundamental closed-form results which explicitly indicate the conditions under which regression effects towards (RTM) and away from the mean are expected. Specifically, we show that for skewed and bimodal distributions many or even most cases will show a regression effect that is in expectation away from the mean, or that is not just towards but actually beyond the mean. We illustrate our results in quantitative detail with typical examples from experimental and biometric applications, which exhibit a clear regression away from the mean (‘egression from the mean’) signature. We aim not to repeal cautionary advice against potential RTM effects, but to present a balanced view of regression effects, based on a clear identification of the conditions governing the form that regression effects take in repeated measures designs.
Battle of plates
(2017)
Objective: Approach-avoidance training (AAT) is a promising approach in obesity treatment. The present study examines whether an AAT is feasible and able to influence approach tendencies in children and adolescents, comparing implicit and explicit training approaches. Design/Setting/Subjects: Fifty-nine overweight children and adolescents (aged 8-16 years; twenty-six boys) participated in an AAT for food cues, learning to reject snack items and approach vegetable items. Reaction times in the AAT and an implicit association rest (IAT) were assessed pre- and post-intervention. Results: A significant increase in the AAT compatibility scores with a large effect (eta(2) = 0.18) was found. No differences between the implicit and explicit training approaches and no change in the IAT scores were observed. Conclusions: Automatic tendencies in children can be trained, too. The implementation of AAT in the treatment of obesity might support the modification of an unhealthy nutrition behaviour pattern. Further data from randomized controlled clinical trials are needed.
In assessing adolescent behavior difficulties, parents, teachers, and the adolescents themselves are key informants. However, substantial disagreement has been found between informants. Specifically, children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) tend to overestimate their competencies, also known as "positive (illusionary) bias." This study compared parent, teacher, and adolescent ratings of ADHD and other behavioral symptoms in a sample of 114 adolescents with ADHD. Further, the effect of cross-informant disagreement (CID) on treatment outcomes was investigated in a subsample of 54 adolescents who had undergone a training and coaching intervention. Overall, there was moderate agreement among informants. Parent and adolescent ratings were more strongly correlated with each other than with teacher ratings. The strongest discrepancy was found between teacher and adolescent ratings on prosocial behavior. This discrepancy explained 12% of the variance in parent-rated ADHD symptom severity after the intervention. The treatment was less effective in participants with high teacher-adolescent disagreement on prosocial behavior (d = 0.41) than with low disagreement (d = 0.98). These findings suggest that professionals working with adolescents with ADHD should consider multiple sources of information before initiating treatment and pay attention to cross-informant disagreements because these may indicate a risk of diminished treatment effects.
The complexity of eye-movement control during reading allows measurement of many dependent variables, the most prominent ones being fixation durations and their locations in words. In current practice, either variable may serve as dependent variable or covariate for the other in linear mixed models (LMMs) featuring also psycholinguistic covariates of word recognition and sentence comprehension. Rather than analyzing fixation location and duration with separate LMMs, we propose linking the two according to their sequential dependency. Specifically, we include predicted fixation location (estimated in the first LMM from psycholinguistic covariates) and its associated residual fixation location as covariates in the second, fixation-duration LMM. This linked LMM affords a distinction between direct and indirect effects (mediated through fixation location) of psycholinguistic covariates on fixation durations. Results confirm the robustness of distributed processing in the perceptual span. They also offer a resolution of the paradox of the inverted optimal viewing position (IOVP) effect (i.e., longer fixation durations in the center than at the beginning and end of words) although the opposite (i.e., an OVP effect) is predicted from default assumptions of psycholinguistic processing efficiency: The IOVP effect in fixation durations is due to the residual fixation-location covariate, presumably driven primarily by saccadic error, and the OVP effect (at least the left part of it) is uncovered with the predicted fixation-location covariate, capturing the indirect effects of psycholinguistic covariates. We expect that linked LMMs will be useful for the analysis of other dynamically related multiple outcomes, a conundrum of most psychonomic research.
The present study explores the perceptual span, that is, the physical extent of the area from which useful visual information is obtained during a single fixation, during oral reading of Chinese sentences. Characters outside a window of legible text were replaced by visually similar characters. Results show that the influence of window size on the perceptual span was consistent across different fixation and oculomotor measures. To maintain normal reading behavior when reading aloud, it was necessary to have information provided from three characters to the right of the fixation. Together with findings from previous research, our findings suggest that the physical size of the perceptual span is smaller when reading aloud than in silent reading. This is in agreement with previous studies in English, suggesting that the mechanisms causing the reduced span in oral reading have a common base that generalizes across languages and writing systems.
The all-female Amazon molly (Poecilia formosa) is the result of a hybridization of the Atlantic molly (P. mexicana) and the sailfin molly (P. latipinna) approximately 120,000 years ago. As a gynogenetic species, P. formosa needs to copulate with heterospecific males including males from one of its bisexual ancestral species. However, the sperm only triggers embryo genesis of the diploid eggs. The genetic information of the sperm donor typically will not contribute to the next generation of P. formosa. Hence, P. formosa possesses generally one allele from each of its ancestral species at any genetic locus. This raises the question whether both ancestral alleles are equally expressed in P. formosa. Allele-specific expression (ASE) has been previously assessed in various organisms, e.g., human and fish, and ASE was found to be important in the context of phenotypic variability and disease. In this study, we utilized Real-Time PCR techniques to estimate ASE of the androgen receptor alpha (ara) gene in several distinct tissues of Amazon mollies. We found an allelic bias favoring the maternal ancestor (P. mexicana) allele in ovarian tissue. This allelic bias was not observed in the gill or the brain tissue. Sequencing of the promoter regions of both alleles revealed an association between an Indel in a known CpG island and differential expression. Future studies may reveal whether our observed cis-regulatory divergence is caused by an ovary-specific trans-regulatory element, preferentially activating the allele of the maternal ancestor.
I’m merciful, am I not?
(2017)
Narcissists are said to be particularly unforgiving, yet previous research remains inconclusive. This is likely because most previous studies focused on narcissism as a unitary construct, thereby neglecting its multiple facets. The present study (N = 1101) thus aimed to clarify the nuanced associations between different facets of narcissism and forgiveness, the latter being assessed via self-report and non-self-report measures. The results of a structural equation model (SEM) showed that antagonistic aspects of narcissism were negatively correlated with explicit forgiveness. Importantly, agentic as well as communal aspects of narcissism were positively correlated with explicit forgiveness. Aspects of narcissistic personality were not correlated with implicit forgiveness. Results suggest that not all facets of narcissism are associated with an unforgiving stance.
I can see clearly now
(2017)
Past research has revealed that narcissists lack forgiveness. However, little is known about factors that might either buffer or, more critically, enhance the link between narcissism and lack of forgiveness. To address this gap in the literature, the present studies focused on the moderating role of clarity of transgression-related motivations. In an original and a replication study (Ns = 509 and 532, respectively), participants rated their levels of narcissistic admiration and rivalry and recalled a personal episode in which someone had hurt them. Subsequently, participants reported on their lack of forgiveness toward their transgressor. Response speed to these ratings served as an indirect clarity measure, with faster responses indicating greater clarity. In both studies, narcissistic rivalry (but not admiration) was positively related to lack of forgiveness and this relationship was stronger among individuals who were clear about their transgression-related motivations. Results inform our understanding of socio-emotional factors that contribute to narcissists' lack of forgiveness following interpersonal hurt.
Clinical supervision is regarded as one of the most important components of psychotherapy training. In clinical practice, it has been found that the implementation of clinical supervision varies substantially and often differs from the recommendations made in the literature. The objective of the current study was to investigate the frequency of topics (e.g. ethical issues) and techniques (e.g. role play) in the clinical supervision of psychotherapy trainees in Germany. To this end, we considered supervisions in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and psychodynamic therapy (PT). A total of 791 psychotherapy trainees (533 CBT and 242 PT) were asked via the internet to provide information about their current supervision sessions. We found that clinical supervision in psychotherapy training addressed topics that are central for the effective treatment of supervised patients (i.e. therapeutic interventions, therapeutic alliance, maintaining factors, and therapeutic goals). However, the most frequently used intervention in clinical supervision in psychotherapy training was case discussion. Rarely were techniques used that allowed the supervisor to give the supervisee feedback based on the supervisee's demonstrated competencies. For example, 46% of the supervisors never used audiotapes or videotapes in the supervision. Differences between CBT and PT were rather small. Current practice regarding the techniques used in clinical supervision for psychotherapy trainees contradicts recommendations for active and feedback-oriented clinical supervision. Thus the potential of clinical supervision might not be fully used in clinical practice.
Many studies demonstrated interactions between number processing and either spatial codes (effects of spatial-numerical associations) or visual size-related codes (size-congruity effect). However, the interrelatedness of these two number couplings is still unclear. The present study examines the simultaneous occurrence of space- and size-numerical congruency effects and their interactions both within and across trials, in a magnitude judgment task physically small or large digits were presented left or right from screen center. The reaction times analysis revealed that space- and size-congruency effects coexisted in parallel and combined additively. Moreover, a selective sequential modulation of the two congruency effects was found. The size-congruency effect was reduced after size incongruent trials. The space-congruency effect, however, was only affected by the previous space congruency. The observed independence of spatial-numerical and within magnitude associations is interpreted as evidence that the two couplings reflect Different attributes of numerical meaning possibly related to orginality and cardinality.
A crucial question facing cognitive science concerns the nature of conceptual representations as well as the constraints on the interactions between them. One specific question we address in this paper is what makes cross-representational interplay possible? We offer two distinct theoretical scenarios: according to the first scenario, co-activated knowledge representations interact with the help of an interface established between them via congruent activation in a mediating third-party general cognitive mechanism, e.g., attention. According to the second scenario, co-activated knowledge representations interact due to an overlap between their features, for example when they share a magnitude component. First, we make a case for cross representational interplay based on grounded and situated theories of cognition. Second, we discuss interface-based interactions between distinct (i.e., non-overlapping) knowledge representations. Third, we discuss how co-activated representations may share their architecture via partial overlap. Finally, we outline constraints regarding the flexibility of these proposed mechanisms.
Objective:
The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of age and weight status on adolescents' body dissatisfaction and its change over 20 months in a gender-comparing design. The influence of body image concern on eating concern was also investigated.
Method:
In a prospective study, 675 male and female adolescents aged 12–16 were assessed using self-report questionnaires on weight, shape, muscularity, and eating concerns. Height and weight measurements were taken by trained personnel. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.
Results:
Analyses of latent means revealed more pronounced weight/shape concern in females than males and more pronounced muscularity concern in males than females. Weight/shape concern increased in females over time, whereas muscularity concern remained stable in both genders. Baseline levels of weight/shape concern could be predicted by age and weight status in females and by weight status in males. The only predictor of change in weight/shape concern was weight status in males. Baseline levels of muscularity concern could be predicted by age in females and by weight status in males. Similar effects were found for changes in muscularity concern in both genders. Increases in weight/shape and muscularity concern were associated with more pronounced eating concern.
Discussion:
The results confirm gender differences in distinctive facets of body image concern and its prediction. The relevance of increase in body image concern in adolescents is underlined by its association with eating concern in both genders. Further explanatory variables for change in body dissatisfaction should be examined in future studies.
Aims Work-anxiety may produce overly negative views of the workplace that impair provider efforts to assess work ability from patient self-report. This study explores the empirical relationships between patient-reported workplace characteristics, work-anxiety, and subjective and objective work ability measures. Methods 125 patients in medical rehabilitation before vocational reintegration were interviewed concerning their vocational situation, and filled in a questionnaire on work-anxiety, subjective mental work ability and perceived workplace characteristics. Treating physicians gave independent socio-medical judgments concerning the patients’ work ability and impairment, and need for supportive means for vocational reintegration. Results Patients with high work-anxiety reported more negative workplace characteristics. Low judgments of work ability were correlated with problematic workplace characteristics. When controlled for work-anxiety, subjective work ability remained related only with social workplace characteristics and with work achievement demands, but independent from situational or task characteristics. Sick leave duration and physicians’ judgment of work ability were not significantly related to patient-reported workplace characteristics. Conclusions In socio-medical work ability assessments, patients with high work-anxiety may over-report negative workplace characteristics that can confound provider estimates of work ability. Assessing work-anxiety may be important to assess readiness for returning to work and initiating work-directed treatments.
Childhood adversity plays an important role for development of major depressive disorder (MDD). There are differences in subcortical brain structures between patients with MDD and healthy controls, but the specific impact of childhood adversity on such structures in MDD remains unclear. Thus, aim of the present study was to investigate whether childhood adversity is associated with subcortical volumes and how it interacts with a diagnosis of MDD and sex. Within the ENIGMA-MDD network, nine university partner sites, which assessed childhood adversity and magnetic resonance imaging in patients with MDD and controls, took part in the current joint mega-analysis. In this largest effort world-wide to identify subcortical brain structure differences related to childhood adversity, 3036 participants were analyzed for subcortical brain volumes using FreeSurfer. A significant interaction was evident between childhood adversity, MDD diagnosis, sex, and region. Increased exposure to childhood adversity was associated with smaller caudate volumes in females independent of MDD. All subcategories of childhood adversity were negatively associated with caudate volumes in females - in particular emotional neglect and physical neglect (independently from age, ICV, imaging site and MDD diagnosis). There was no interaction effect between childhood adversity and MDD diagnosis on subcortical brain volumes. Childhood adversity is one of the contributors to brain structural abnormalities. It is associated with subcortical brain abnormalities that are relevant to psychiatric disorders such as depression. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Research in cognitive neuroscience has shown that brain structures serving perceptual, emotional, and motor processes are also recruited during the understanding of language when it refers to emotion, perception, and action. However, the exact linguistic and extralinguistic conditions under which such language-induced activity in modality-specific cortex is triggered are not yet well understood. The purpose of this study is to introduce a simple experimental technique that allows for the online measure of language-induced activity in motor structures of the brain. This technique consists in the use of a grip force sensor that captures subtle grip force variations while participants listen to words and sentences. Since grip force reflects activity in motor brain structures, the continuous monitoring of force fluctuations provides a fine-grained estimation of motor activity across time. In other terms, this method allows for both localization of the source of language-induced activity to motor brain structures and high temporal resolution of the recorded data. To facilitate comparison of the data to be collected with this tool, we present two experiments that describe in detail the technical setup, the nature of the recorded data, and the analyses (including justification about the data filtering and artifact rejection) that we applied. We also discuss how the tool could be used in other domains of behavioral research.
Background: Depressed mood is prevalent during pregnancy, with accumulating evidence suggesting an impact on developmental outcome in the offspring. However, the long-term effects of prenatal maternal depression regarding internalizing psychopathology in the offspring are as yet unclear. Results: In n=85 young adults exposed to prenatal maternal depressed mood, no significantly higher risk for a diagnosis of depressive disorder was observed. However, they reported significantly lower levels of depressive symptoms. This association was especially pronounced when prenatal maternal depressed mood was present during the first trimester of pregnancy and when maternal mood was depressed pre- as well as postnatally. At an uncorrected level only, prenatal maternal depressed mood was associated with decreased amygdala volume. Limitations: Prenatal maternal depressed mood was not assessed during pregnancy, but shortly after childbirth. No diagnoses of maternal clinical depression during pregnancy were available. Conclusions: Self-reported depressive symptoms do not imply increased, but rather decreased symptom levels in young adults who were exposed to prenatal maternal depressed mood. A long-term perspective may be important when considering consequences of prenatal risk factors.
Background: Self-harm is highly prevalent in adolescence, often serving an emotion regulation function. Social stressors such as bullying are associated with self-harm. The neurobiological background of the relationship between social stressors and self-harm needs to be further understood to inform prevention and therapy. Methods: Participants were members of an epidemiological cohort study. 130 female participants underwent the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) at age 19. Of them, 21 reported a history of self-harm as assessed by the Youth Self Report. Psychiatric diagnoses were recorded. Results: Participants with a history of self-harm showed significantly lower blood cortisol levels throughout the TSST. Early psychosocial adversity did not significantly differ between groups with and without self-harm, with self-harming participants reporting more childhood adversities. Conclusion: These results add to the limited field of studies showing an altered HPA axis activity in females with self-harm. Future studies need to address the causal mechanisms behind this association.
Physical size modulates the efficiency of digit comparison, depending on whether the relation of numerical magnitude and physical size is congruent or incongruent (Besner & Coltheart, Neuropsychologia, 17, 467–472, 1979), the number-size congruency effect (NSCE). In addition, Henik and Tzelgov (Memory & Cognition, 10, 389–395, 1982) first reported an NSCE for the reverse task of comparing the physical size of digits such that the numerical magnitude of digits modulated the time required to compare their physical sizes. Does the NSCE in physical comparisons simply reflect a number-mediated bias mechanism related to making decisions and selecting responses about the digit’s sizes? Alternatively, or in addition, the NSCE might indicate a true increase in the ability to discriminate small and large font sizes when these sizes are congruent with the digit’s symbolic numerical meaning, over and above response bias effects. We present a new research design that permits us to apply signal detection theory to a task that required observers to judge the physical size of digits. Our results clearly demonstrate that the NSCE cannot be reduced to mere response bias effects, and that genuine sensitivity gains for congruent number-size pairings contribute to the NSCE.
Socioeconomic status, parent report of children’s early language skills, and late literacy skills
(2017)
Previous research on the longitudinal prediction of literacy development has focused mainly on the relationship between early cognitive/language skills and late literacy skills. The present study aimed to test the reliability of a number of measures reported by parents as compared to measuring cognitive and language skills in predicting subsequent reading achievement. Two hundred sixty-two Chinese children were administered four cognitive and language skills over three years at the preliterate stage. Additional information on children’s family socioeconomic status (SES), children’s early language skills, familial reading performance and habits, and familial handedness based on the observations of parents was collected. Performance on these variables in relation to subsequent literacy skills at 11 years of age was examined. SES and children’s early language skills significantly predicted subsequent literacy skills. Even with a number of cognitive and language skills statistically controlled, parental reports of children’s early language skills still contributed to reading comprehension. Poor readers defined at 11 years of age had lagged behind in early language skills, as well as family reading performance and habits, as compared to typically developing readers. These findings suggest that SES and parental estimates of children’s early language skills are useful for predicting children’s subsequent reading achievement.
We examined native and non-native English speakers’ processing of indirect object wh-dependencies using a filled-gap paradigm while recording event-related potentials (ERPs). The non-native group was comprised of native German-speaking, proficient non-native speakers of English. Both participant groups showed evidence of linking fronted indirect objects to the subcategorizing verb when this was encountered, reflected in an N400 component. Evidence for continued filler activation beyond the verb was seen only in the non-native group, in the shape of a prolonged left-anterior negativity. Both participant groups showed sensitivity to filled indirect object gaps reflected in a P600 response, which was more pronounced and more globally distributed in our non-native group. Taken together, our results indicate that resolving indirect object dependencies is a two-step process in both native and non-native sentence comprehension, with greater processing cost incurred in non-native compared to native comprehension.
In order to clarify further the role of Beck’s vulnerability-stress model in the early development of depression, this longitudinal study tested a threshold model of dysfunctional attitudes in children and adolescents. An initially asymptomatic sample of 889 youths aged 9–18 years completed measures of dysfunctional attitudes and depressive symptoms. Twenty months later, participants reported stressful life events and current depressive symptoms. Results support a threshold view of cognitive vulnerability as only dysfunctional attitudes above a certain threshold significantly interacted with life events to predict depressive symptoms. Thus, findings suggest that dysfunctional attitudes must exceed a certain threshold to confer vulnerability to depressive symptomatology in youth. The term “dysfunctional” might therefore only apply to higher levels of the “dysfunctional attitudes” proposed by A. T. Beck. Results also indicate that studies using non-clinical samples may systematically underestimate the effect of dysfunctional attitudes when relying on conventional linear methods.
A number of new psycholinguistic variables has been proposed during the last years within embodied cognition framework: modality experience rating (i.e., relationship between words and images of a particular perceptive modality-visual, auditory, haptic etc.), manipulability (the necessity for an object to interact with human hands in order to perform its function), vertical spatial localization. However, it is not clear how these new variables are related to each other and to such traditional variables as imageability, AoA and word frequency. In this article, normative data on the modality (visual, auditory, haptic, olfactory, and gustatory) ratings, vertical spatial localization of the object, manipulability, imageability, age of acquisition, and subjective frequency for 506 Russian nouns are presented. Strongest correlations were observed between olfactory and gustatory modalities (.81), visual modality and imageability (.78), haptic modality and manipulability (.7). Other modalities also significantly correlate with imageability: olfactory (.35), gustatory (.24), and haptic (.67). Factor analysis divided variables into four groups where visual and haptic modality ratings were combined with imageability, manipulability and AoA (the first factor); word length, frequency and AoA formed the second factor; olfactory modality was united with gustatory (the third factor); spatial localization only is included in the fourth factor. Present norms of imageability and AoA are consistent with previous as correlation analysis has revealed. The complete database can be downloaded from supplementary material.
Objective: To investigate frequency, type, and characteristics of work anxieties in patients with somatic illness. Design: Cross-sectional observation study. Setting: Neurology, orthopedic, and cardiology rehabilitation clinics. Participants: Patients (N=4610; age, 18-65y) with work anxieties. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: Patients who scored high on at least 2 of 9 items in the work-anxiety screening questionnaire and who reported impairment were investigated with a differential diagnostic interview on work anxieties and with the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview on non work-related common mental disorders. Patients also filled out a self-rating questionnaire on their subjective symptom load and sociodemographic data. Results: Approximately 20% to 27% of the investigated inpatients in somatic rehabilitation (altogether n=393) received a work-anxiety diagnosis. Patients with orthopedic illness report highest work anxiety and have previous longest sick leave (20.6wk in the past 12mo). Patients with orthopedic illness suffer from work-related adjustment disorder with anxiety, social anxieties, and workplace phobias, whereas patients with cardiac illness are more often affected by hypochondriac anxieties. Anxieties of insufficiency and worrying occur equally in all indications. Conclusions: About a quarter of patients in somatic rehabilitation are in need of additional diagnostic attention owing to work anxieties. Differential diagnostic of work anxiety is needed for initiating adequate therapeutic action. Somatic rehabilitation physicians should be aware of work anxieties in their patients, especially in patients with orthopedic illness with previous long-term sick leave. (c) 2017 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine
Child regulative temperament as a mediator of parenting in the development of depressive symptoms
(2017)
Child temperament as well as parenting behaviors have been linked to adolescent depression. Beyond their main effects, the interplay between these factors is of interest. For example, in an interactive model, a differential susceptibility of temperamental variants to parenting has been suggested. However, so far, the differential susceptibility hypothesis has mostly been studied with a focus on externalizing disorders. On the other hand, parenting may shape the child’s temperament and vice versa in a transactional process. In a prospective, longitudinal at-risk sample (163 boys, 176 girls), we assessed emotional (easy–difficult) and regulative (self-control) temperament at ages 4.5, and 8 years, respectively, as well as parenting quality at age 4.5 years using the HOME inventory. Hierarchical linear regression analysis was used to investigate the prediction of depressive symptoms at age 11, measured by the Child Depression Inventory, including interaction terms between the temperament variable and parenting. We additionally tested whether parenting was mediated by child temperament. As previously reported, both self-control and parenting were longitudinally associated with preadolescent depressive symptoms. There were no interactive effects between temperament and parenting. However, the effects of parenting were partly mediated by self-control. Our data do not support a differential susceptibility of temperamental variants in the development of preadolescent depression. However, our results are in line with the assumption that parenting may shape young children’s temperament, with positive parenting in the early childhood fostering the development of regulative temperament.
Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the more commonly occurring mental disorders following potentially traumatizing events soldiers may encounter when deployed abroad. One of the first-line recommended treatment options is eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). The number of studies assessing the effectiveness of EMDR in German soldiers under routine conditions is currently almost nil. Methods: A retrospective, quasi-experimental effectiveness study on EMDR in an inpatient setting is presented using a prepost design. The study compares symptom reduction in soldiers (N = 78) with a wait-list (N = 18). Effect sizes of EMDR were measured for PTSD, symptoms of depression, and general mental health. Results: Effect size for EMDR treatment of PTSD was d = 0.77; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.51 to 1.36, for symptoms of depression d = 0.99; 95% CI: 0.31 to 1.36, and for general psychiatric symptoms d = 0.53; 95% CI: 0.17 to 1.21. The effects resulting from EMDR treatment were somewhat weaker than those reported in comparable studies in civilians. Conclusion: EMDR therapy is an effective treatment to reduce symptoms of PTSD and depression. However, in the military context it needs to be complemented by treatment options that specifically address further conditions perpetuating the disorders.
Two eye-tracking experiments examined influences of grammatical and stereotypical gender cues on the assignment of thematic roles in German. Participants (N-1 = 32, N-2 = 40) read sentences with subject- and object-extracted relative clauses, where thematic agents and patients remained ambiguous until the end of the relative clause. The results reveal a linguistic gender bias: agent roles are assigned more easily to grammatically masculine than feminine role nouns and stereotypically neutral than female ones. The opposite pattern is observed in the assignment of patient roles for stereotypical but not grammatical gender. The findings are discussed within the framework of situation model theories as well as in constraint-based and similarity-based interference accounts, while gender is viewed as a dimension of prominence.
Previous studies found high prevalence rates of personality disorders (PDs) in patients with hypochondriasis; however, assessment was often based only on questionnaires. In the current study, a sample of 68 patients with hypochondriasis was compared to 31 patients with panic disorder and to 94 healthy controls. Participants were investigated with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Personality Disorders questionnaire (SCID-II questionnaire) and the SCID-II interview. Based on the cut-off scores of the SCID-II questionnaire, we found a prevalence rate of 45.6% for PD in patients with hypochondriasis. In comparison to healthy controls, patients with hypochondriasis showed characteristics of paranoid, borderline, avoid ant, and-dependent PDs in the dimensional assessment significantly more often. However, no significant differences were found between the clinical samples. Based on the SCID-II interview, only 2.9% of the patients with hypochondriasis fulfilled the criteria for a PD. These results suggest that PDs are not a specific characteristic of hypochondriasis.
Purpose: The existing body of work regarding discourse coherence in aphasia has provided mixed results, leaving the question of coherence being impaired or intact as a result of brain injury unanswered. In this study, discourse coherence in non-brain-damaged (NBD) speakers and speakers with anomic aphasia was investigated quantitatively and qualitatively. Method: Fifteen native speakers of Cantonese with anomic aphasia and 15 NBD participants produced 60 language samples. Elicitation tasks included story-telling induced by a picture series and a procedural description. The samples were annotated for discourse structure in the framework of Rhetorical Structure Theory (RST) in order to analyse a number of structural parameters. After that 20 naive listeners rated coherence of each sample. Result: Disordered discourse was rated as significantly less coherent. The NBD group demonstrated a higher production fluency than the participants with aphasia and used a richer set of semantic relations to create discourse, particularly in the description of settings, expression of causality, and extent of elaboration. People with aphasia also tended to omit essential information content. Conclusion: Reduced essential information content, lower degree of elaboration, and a larger amount of structural disruptions may have contributed to the reduced overall discourse coherence in speakers with anomic aphasia.
Personal initiative
(2017)
Although the effects of personal initiative (PI) on adults' performance and other favorable outcomes are well documented, research has only recently begun to study PI in childhood. This study aimed at examining the development of PI, its predictors, and its developmental effects from childhood to early adolescence. A total of 1,593 German children participated in a longitudinal study starting at Grades 2 to 4, with a second measurement wave two years later. Latent change score analyses revealed that 1) children differed significantly in their change scores of PI, that 2) executive functions and positive parenting predicted change scores in PI, and that 3) high initial levels and change scores in PI reduced the development of internalizing and externalizing problems and supported the development of prosocial behavior and academic competencies. These findings endorse the plasticity of PI and shed light on the active part of children in promoting their own development.
The aim of our study was to examine the extent to which linguistic approaches to sentence comprehension deficits in aphasia can account for differential impairment patterns in the comprehension of wh-questions in bilingual persons with aphasia (PWA). We investigated the comprehension of subject and object wh-questions in both Turkish, a wh-in-situ language, and German, a wh-fronting language, in two bilingual PWA using a sentence-to-picture matching task. Both PWA showed differential impairment patterns in their two languages. SK, an early bilingual PWA, had particular difficulty comprehending subject which-questions in Turkish but performed normal across all conditions in German. CT, a late bilingual PWA, performed more poorly for object which-questions in German than in all other conditions, whilst in Turkish his accuracy was at chance level across all conditions. We conclude that the observed patterns of selective cross-linguistic impairments cannot solely be attributed either to difficulty with wh-movement or to problems with the integration of discourse-level information. Instead our results suggest that differences between our PWA’s individual bilingualism profiles (e.g. onset of bilingualism, premorbid language dominance) considerably affected the nature and extent of their impairments.
The illness-related evaluation of bodily symptoms is considered to be an important maintaining factor in somatoform disorders. However, little is known about context variables that could influence this evaluation process. In the current study, participants completed three versions of the Health Norms Sorting Task (HNST) and evaluated bodily symptoms in different contexts (i.e., different evaluation perspectives and time frames of evaluation). Additionally, the three HNST versions were presented in different orders. Bodily symptoms were evaluated more often as a sign of illness when a specific time frame (i.e., one week) was given. However, this context effect was only large when participants had previously evaluated symptoms existing without a concrete duration. Thus, previously completed symptom evaluations appear to represent an important frame of reference in terms of a cue that makes specific context variables salient. The results further suggested that these cueing effects might be less relevant for participants with elevated somatic symptom reports.
Is more always up?
(2017)
It has been argued that the association of numbers and vertical space plays a fundamental role for the understanding of numerical concepts. However, convincing evidence for an association of numbers and vertical bimanual responses is still lacking. The present study tests the vertical Spatio-Numerical-Association-of-Response-Codes (SNARC) effect in a number classification task by comparing anatomical hand-based and spatial associations. A mixed effects model of linear spatial-numerical associations revealed no evidence for a vertical but clear support for an anatomical SNARC effect. Only if the task requirements prevented participants from using a number-hand association due to frequently alternating hand-to-button assignments, numbers were associated with the vertical dimension. Taken together, the present findings question the importance of vertical associations for the conceptual understanding of numerical magnitude as hypothesised by some embodied approaches to number cognition and suggest a preference for ego-over geocentric reference frames for the mapping of numbers onto space.
Work-anxieties are costly and need early intervention. The perception of being able to cope with work is a basic requirement for work ability. This randomized controlled trial investigates whether a cognitive behavioural, work-anxiety-coping group (WAG) intervention leads to better work-coping perception than an unspecific recreational group (RG). Heterogeneous people in medical rehabilitation, who were due to return to work, were interviewed concerning their work-anxieties, and either randomly assigned to a WAG (n=85) or a RG (n=95). The participants (with an average of 50years old [range 23-64]; 51% women; 70% workers or employees, 25% academics, 5% unskilled) followed the group intervention for four or six sessions. The perceived work-coping was assessed by self-rating (Inventory for Job-Coping and Return Intention JoCoRi) after each group session. Although participants had a slight temporary decrease in work-coping after group session two (from M-1=2.47 to M-2=2.28, d(Cohen)=-.22), the WAG led to the improvement of perceived work-coping over the intervention course (from M-1=2.47 to M-6=2.65, d(Cohen)=.18). In contrast, participants from the RG reported lower work-coping after six group sessions (from M-1=2.26 to M-6=2.02, d(Cohen)=-.18). It is considered that people with work-anxieties need training in work-coping. By focusing on recreation only, this may lead to deterioration of work-coping. Indeed, intervention designers should be aware of temporary deterioration (side effects) when confronting participants with work-coping.
When theory meets practice
(2017)
Although more than seven decades have passed since Lewin laid the foundation for how employees’ behaviour could be changed within organizations, his ideas are far from being obsolescent. Accordingly, this article demonstrates how Lewin’s concepts can still be of use in tackling current issues (i.e. the need to raise energy-saving behaviours within organizations). In order to revive Lewin’s concepts, we combine his approaches on organization change with Motivational Interviewing (MI), a facilitation approach that fits well with his democratic and participatory mind-set. After a theoretical consideration of how Lewin’s ideas could be accompanied by MI principles, we outline a practical concept for raising the level of employees’ energy-saving behaviours to a higher standard. The usefulness of our concept is highlighted on the basis of qualitative (a force field analysis) and quantitative (an increase of energy-saving norms and – behaviours) data. Lewin’s legacy for current organization development, and the theoretical as well as practical implications for how his ideas could be applied through a combination with MI practices, are discussed.
Listening comprehension in academic contexts is an important prerequisite for the acquisition of school-related skills. However, the concept of academic language is generally the subject of much debate, and there is no consensus yet on what constitutes academic listening comprehension. To date, it remains unclear whether listening comprehension of academic language may be regarded as a distinct construct. The present study investigates the distinction of academic and everyday listening comprehension in 459 ninth-grade students speaking German as a first language or as a second language. Empirical results provide preliminary evidence that academic listening forms a separate facet of listening comprehension. Contrary to theoretical assumptions, second language students were not particularly disadvantaged in terms of academic listening comprehension.
The purpose of the project was to develop the Discounting Inventory (DI), a measure of individual differences in delay, probability, effort, and social discounting, all related to behavioral impulsivity. Over 400 items relating to four types of discounting were generated. Next, a study followed by a series of psychometric analyses of data obtained from a group of 2843 individuals was conducted. Principal Component Analysis yielded a four-factor structure of data, reflecting the four types of discounting. The results of Confirmatory Factor Analysis showed good fit of the four-factor model to data. Through several iterations of retaining and deleting items on the basis of their component loadings, item intercorrelations, and contribution to coefficient alphas, the total number of items was reduced to 48. The final 48-item version of the inventory has satisfactory psychometric characteristics, including Cronbach's alpha and test-retest stability. In addition, significant correlations were observed between the DI and traditional discounting instruments, suggesting that the DI measures a construct similar to the behavioral discounting process. The development of the tool was based on the assumption that discounting is a personality trait. However, the present data suggest that discounting may reflect more a state than trait function.
Schools are a major context for academic and socio-emotional development, but also an important acculturative context. This is notably the case in adolescence, which is a critical period for the development of a social and ethnic identity, as well as moral reasoning and intergroup attitudes. How schools approach cultural diversity issues is therefore likely to affect these developmental and acculturative processes and adaptation outcomes. In the present article, the manifestation and effects of the most prominent approaches to cultural diversity, namely those guided by a perspective of equality and inclusion, and those guided by a perspective of cultural pluralism, are reviewed and compared in the context of multi-ethnic schools. The aim is to explore when and how the potential of cultural diversity can best flourish, enhancing the academic and socio-emotional development of culturally diverse students.