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Background
Despite the prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), its precise identification remains challenging. With the Zohar-Fineberg Obsessive-Compulsive Screen (ZF-OCS; 5 or 6 items), a brief instrument is widely available mainly in English. As there is a lack of empirical studies on the ZF-OCS, the aim of the present study was to translate the items into German and investigate the instrument in a nonclinical sample.
Methods
In two consecutive online surveys, n = 304 and n = 51 students participated. Besides the ZF-OCS, they answered established measures on OCD, depression, health anxiety, general anxiety and health-related well-being.
Results
Whereas internal consistency was low (α = .53–.72; ω = .55–.69), retest reliability (rt1,t2 = .89) at two weeks was high. As expected, we found high correlations with other OCD instruments (r > .61; convergent validity), and significantly weaker correlations with measures of depression (r = .39), health anxiety (r = .29), and health-related well-being (r = −.28, divergent validity). Nonetheless, the correlations with general anxiety were somewhere in between (r = .52).
Conclusions
Due to heterogeneous OCD subtypes, the ZF-OCS asks diverse questions which probably resulted in the present internal consistency. Nevertheless, the results on retest reliability and validity were promising. As for other OCD instruments, divergent validity regarding general anxiety seems problematic to establish. Even so, the ZF-OCS seems valuable for screening purposes, as it is short and easy to administer, and may facilitate initiating subsequent clinical assessment. Further studies should determine the instrument’s diagnostic accuracy.
Recent research provides evidence that aggressive sexual fantasies predict aggressive sexual behavior in the general population. However, sexual fantasies including fantasies about the infliction of pain and humiliation, should be frequent and often consensually acted upon among individuals with sadomasochistic likings. The question arises whether sexual fantasies with aggressive content still predict presumably non-consensual aggressive sexual behavior in individuals with sadomasochistic likings, given that BDSM encounters are generally considered consensual. To investigate this question, we conducted a questionnaire survey of sexual fantasies, as sessing the frequency of seventy sexual fantasies involving non-aggressive, masochistic, and aggressive acts. Our sample (N = 182) contained 99 respondents who self-identified as sadist, masochist, or switcher; 44 reported no such identification. For respondents reporting BDSM identification, we replicated a factor structure for sexual fantasies similar to that previously found in the general population, including three factors reflecting fantasies about increasingly severe aggressive sexual acts. Fantasies about injuring a partner and/or using weapons and fantasies about sexual coercion predicted presumably non-consensual sexual behavior independently of other risk factors for aggressive sexual behavior and irrespective of BDSM identification. Hence, severely aggressive sexual fantasies may predispose to presumably non-consensual sexual behavior in both individuals with and without BDSM identification.
Zur Abschaffung des Gutachterverfahrens in der Vertragspsychotherapie – ein Qualitätsverlust?
(2021)
Zielsetzung: Der vorliegende Artikel befasst sich mit der Fragestellung, inwiefern das Gutachterverfahren in der Vertragspsychotherapie ein zuverlässiges Qualitätsinstrument darstellt und ob sich aus der geplanten Abschaffung des Gutachterverfahrens das Risiko einer Qualitätsminderung in der ambulanten Psychotherapie ergibt.
Methodik: Es wurde eine Literaturrecherche durchgeführt. Arbeiten von den Jahren 2000 bis 2020 wurden berücksichtigt, welche sich mit dem Gutachterverfahren als Qualitätsmerkmal der ambulanten Psychotherapie befassen. Um die unterschiedlichen Standpunkte der zitierten Autor_innen zu diskutieren, wurde auch Bezug auf weiterführende Literatur genommen.
Ergebnisse: Das Gutachterverfahren scheint empirisch nicht sicher als zuverlässiges Qualitätsmerkmal der ambulanten Psychotherapie herangezogen werden zu können. Die Annahme, dass sich durch eine gutachterbefreite Vertragspsychotherapie eine Qualitätsminderung der Psychotherapie ergibt, wird durch die hier zusammengefassten Arbeiten insgesamt nicht gestützt.
Hintergrund: Im Rahmen des reformierten Psychotherapeutengesetzes wird eine starkere Praxisorientierung in der klinisch-psychologischen Lehre und in der Prufung psychotherapeutischer Kompetenzen verankert. Hierbei sollen Studierende durch die Interaktion mit standardisierten Patient*innen (SP) therapeutische Kompetenzen erwerben und demonstrieren. Fragestellung: Das Ziel des vorliegenden Beitrags ist es, eine evidenzbasierte Umsetzung dieser neuen Lehr- und Prufungsformate zu unterstutzen, indem bisherige Forschungsbefunde zum Einsatz von SP dargestellt und Bereiche, in denen weitere Forschung notwendig ist, aufgezeigt werden. Ergebnisse: Empirische Befunde zeigen, dass SP psychische Storungen authentisch darstellen konnen. Voraussetzung dafur sind beispielsweise die Auswahl geeigneter SP, detaillierte Rollenanleitungen, spezifisches Training, Feedback und Nachschulungen. Auch wenn einige Forschungsfragen, wie zur vergleichenden Wirksamkeit des Einsatzes von SP, noch unbeantwortet sind, lassen sich praktische Implikationen fur SP-Programme in Lehre, Prufung und Forschung ableiten, die in einem Ablaufschema dargestellt werden. Schlussfolgerungen: Der Einsatz von SP bietet gro ss es Potenzial fur die klinisch-psychologische Lehre und Ausbildungsforschung. Um den Einsatz von SP an anderen Standorten zu unterstutzen, werden Beispielmaterialien (z.B. Rollenanleitung) in den elektronischen Supplementen (siehe www.karger.com/doi/10.1159/000509249 fur alle Supplemente) zum Artikel zur Verfugung gestellt.
Example of best practice
(2021)
The Refugee Teachers Program, established at the University of Potsdam, Brandenburg, in 2016, represents a successful model for training and integrating individuals with foreign teaching qualifications through an 18-month teaching and language course. Initially created to help meet the demand for teachers in Germany, the Refugee Teachers Program has been further refined over the course of the last three years in the light of expert meetings, theoretical considerations, and negotiations with the Brandenburg Ministry of Education. This was the first program of its kind in Germany, following an influx of people being forced to migrate from countries such as Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq in 2015. The program responded to these international events by providing training, work, and refuge for migrants who already had teaching experience in their home countries. More than 85 participants successfully completed the program and many have taken up newly created positions as teachers and pedagogical assistants in German schools. However, a number of hurdles still remain before most of the program's graduates can be granted full employment as teachers in Germany.
In two studies, the aim of this research was to develop and validate a Polish version of the reduced Discounting Inventory. In Study 1 (N = 623) items extraction from the 48-item DI was based upon item-total correlation and items with highest coefficients were considered. The reduced Discounting Inventory resulted in sixteen items. Cronbach's a coefficient was .78, and the item-total correlations ranged between .59 and .77. The correlation between Polish versions of reduced Discounting Inventory and longer 48-item Discounting Inventory was .85. Next, the reduced Discounting Inventory was evaluated in terms of factorial and construct validity. The structure of the instrument was analysed by Confirmatory Factor Analyses procedure. It indicated that the four-factor structure had the best fit to the data. Additionally, we show that this reduced Discounting Inventory closely parallels the longer 48-item inventory its relation to traditional discounting measures using pairs of hypothetical choices (expect for the delay discounting subscale). Finally, in study 2, the test-retest reliability of the reduced Discounting Inventory over a 3-month interval was assessed (247 subjects of the 623 individuals who participated in Study 1). Results indicated good stability of the reduced measure (>= .88). It is concluded that the reduced Discounting Inventory has notable psychometric properties and that it can serve as an alternative measure of discounting when situations do not allow the use of longer inventories.
Implementing innovation laboratories to leverage intrapreneurship are an increasingly popular organizational practice. A typical feature in these creative environments are semi-autonomous teams in which multiple members collectively exert leadership influence, thereby challenging traditional command-and-control conceptions of leadership. An extensive body of research on the team-centric concept of shared leadership has recognized the potential for pluralized leadership structures in enhancing team effectiveness; however, little empirical work has been conducted in organizational contexts in which creativity is key. This study set out to explore antecedents of shared leadership and its influence on team creativity in an innovation lab. Building on extant shared leadership and innovation research, we propose antecedents customary to creative teamwork, that is, experimental culture, task reflexivity, and voice. Multisource data were collected from 104 team members and 49 evaluations of 29 coaches nested in 21 teams working in a prototypical innovation lab. We identify factors specific to creative teamwork that facilitate the emergence of shared leadership by providing room for experimentation, encouraging team members to speak up in the creative process, and cultivating a reflective application of entrepreneurial thinking. We provide specific exemplary activities for innovation lab teams to increase levels of shared leadership.
Background: Aggression-related sexual fantasies (ASF) are considered an important risk factor for sexual aggression, but empirical knowledge is limited, in part because previous research has been based on predominantly male, North-American college samples, and limited numbers of questions. <br /> Aim: The present study aimed to foster the knowledge about the frequency and correlates of ASF, while including a large sample of women and a broad range of ASF. <br /> Method: A convenience sample of N = 664 participants from Germany including 508 (77%) women and 156 (23%) men with a median age of 25 (21-27) years answered an online questionnaire. Participants were mainly recruited via social networks (online and in person) and were mainly students. We examined the frequencies of (aggression-related) sexual fantasies and their expected factor structure (factors reflecting affective, experimental, masochistic, and aggression-related contents) via exploratory factor analysis. We investigated potential correlates (eg, psychopathic traits, attitudes towards sexual fantasies) as predictors of ASF using multiple regression analyses. Finally, we examined whether ASF would positively predict sexual aggression beyond other pertinent risk factors using multiple regression analysis. <br /> Outcomes: The participants rated the frequency of a broad set of 56 aggression-related and other sexual fantasies, attitudes towards sexual fantasies, the Big Five (ie, broad personality dimensions including neuroticism and extraversion), sexual aggression, and other risk factors for sexual aggression. <br /> Results: All participants reported non-aggression-related sexual fantasies and 77% reported at least one ASF in their lives. Being male, frequent sexual fantasies, psychopathic traits, and negative attitudes towards sexual fantasies predicted more frequent ASF. ASF were the strongest predictor of sexual aggression beyond other risk factors, including general aggression, psychopathic traits, rape myth acceptance, and violent pornography consumption. <br /> Clinical Translation: ASF may be an important risk factor for sexual aggression and should be more strongly considered in prevention and intervention efforts. <br /> Strengths and Limitations: The strengths of the present study include using a large item pool and a large sample with a large proportion of women in order to examine ASF as a predictor of sexual aggression beyond important control variables. Its weaknesses include the reliance on cross-sectional data, that preclude causal inferences, and not continuously distinguishing between consensual and non-consensual acts. <br /> Conclusion: ASF are a frequent phenomenon even in in the general population and among women and show strong associations with sexual aggression. Thus, they require more attention by research on sexual aggression and its prevention.
Interoception is an often neglected but crucial aspect of the human minimal self. In this perspective, we extend the embodiment account of interoceptive inference to explain the development of the minimal self in humans. To do so, we first provide a comparative overview of the central accounts addressing the link between interoception and the minimal self. Grounding our arguments on the embodiment framework, we propose a bidirectional relationship between motor and interoceptive states, which jointly contribute to the development of the minimal self. We present empirical findings on interoception in development and discuss the role of interoception in the development of the minimal self. Moreover, we make theoretical predictions that can be tested in future experiments. Our goal is to provide a comprehensive view on the mechanisms underlying the minimal self by explaining the role of interoception in the development of the minimal self.
"BreaThink"
(2021)
Cognition is shaped by signals from outside and within the body. Following recent evidence of interoceptive signals modulating higher-level cognition, we examined whether breathing changes the production and perception of quantities. In Experiment 1, 22 adults verbally produced on average larger random numbers after inhaling than after exhaling. In Experiment 2, 24 further adults estimated the numerosity of dot patterns that were briefly shown after either inhaling or exhaling. Again, we obtained on average larger responses following inhalation than exhalation. These converging results extend models of situated cognition according to which higher-level cognition is sensitive to transient interoceptive states.
The functional significance of the N400 evoked-response component is still actively debated. An increasing amount of theoretical and computational modelling work is built on the interpretation of the N400 as a prediction error. In neural network modelling work, it was proposed that the N400 component can be interpreted as the change in a probabilistic representation of meaning that drives the continuous adaptation of an internal model of the statistics of the environment. These results imply that increased N400 amplitudes should correspond to greater adaptation, which can be measured via implicit memory. To investigate this model derived hypothesis, the current study manipulated expectancy in a sentence reading task to influence N400 amplitudes and subsequently presented the previously expected vs. unexpected words in a perceptual identification task to measure implicit memory. As predicted, reaction times in the perceptual identification task were significantly faster for previously unexpected words that induced larger N400 amplitudes in the previous sentence reading task. Additionally, it could be demonstrated that this adaptation seems to specifically depend on the process underlying N400 amplitudes, as participants with larger N400 differences during sentence reading also exhibited a larger implicit memory benefit in the perceptual identification task. These findings support the interpretation of the N400 as an implicit learning signal driving adaptation in language processing.
This study investigated how touching and being touched by a humanoid robot affects human physiology, impressions of the interaction, and attitudes towards humanoid robots. 21 healthy adult participants completed a 3 (touch style: touching, being touched, pointing) x 2 (body part: hand vs buttock) within-subject design using a Pepper robot. Skin conductance response (SCR) was measured during each interaction. Perceived impressions of the interaction (i.e., friendliness, comfort, arousal) were measured per questionnaire after each interaction. Participants' demographics and their attitude towards robots were also considered. We found shorter SCR rise times in the being touched compared to the touching condition, possibly reflecting psychological alertness to the unpredictability of robot-initiated contacts. The hand condition had shorter rise times than the buttock condition. Most participants evaluated the hand condition as most friendly and comfortable and the robot-initiated interactions as most arousing. Interacting with Pepper improved attitudes towards robots. Our findings require future studies with larger samples and improved procedures. They have implications for robot design in all domains involving tactile interactions, such as caring and intimacy.
Hintergrund
Essstörungen sind prävalent, chronifizieren häufig und gehen trotz wirksamer Behandlungsansätze oft mit Rückfällen einher. Prävention ist daher entscheidend, jedoch sind viele aktuelle Präventionsprogramme ressourcenintensiv. Internetbasierte Interventionen können eine kostengünstige und niedrigschwellige Alternative darstellen, sind jedoch bislang nur wenig untersucht.
Fragestellung
Wie wirksam ist ein internetbasiertes, unbegleitetes Präventionsangebot?
Material und Methode
Die Intervention wurde auf Basis verhaltenstherapeutischer Techniken neu entwickelt und im Rahmen eines randomisierten Wartekontrollgruppendesigns an 200 Studierenden pilotiert. Vor und nach der Intervention bzw. Wartezeit wurden Daten zu essstörungsspezifischer Pathologie (Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire, EDE‑Q), Wohlbefinden (WHO-Five Well-Being Index, WHO-5) sowie Selbstwert (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, RSES) erhoben und varianzanalytisch untersucht.
Ergebnisse
Die Intervention wurde von 43 % der Teilnehmenden vollständig durchlaufen. Der Selbstwert nahm in der Interventionsgruppe im Vergleich zur Wartekontrollgruppe stärker zu (η2p= 0,33). Auf den anderen Variablen ergaben sich keine signifikanten Unterschiede zwischen den Gruppen.
Schlussfolgerung
Unbegleitete Online-Selbsthilfe erscheint vielversprechend, um den Selbstwert zu verbessern und damit einen Beitrag zur Prävention von Essstörungen zu leisten. Untersuchungen in größeren, heterogenen Gruppen sind künftig nötig, um ggf. vorhandene, kleinere Präventionseffekte zu entdecken.
Purpose:
Current research supports the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions for maladaptive eating behaviors associated with obesity and eating disorders. To investigate potential underlying mechanisms at work, reliable and valid instruments that allow for an exhaustive assessment of the context-specific construct Mindful Eating (ME) are needed. Therefore, the current work aimed to develop a comprehensive inventory reflecting a wide range of ME attitudes and behaviors: The Mindful Eating Inventory (MEI).
Methods & Results:
Study 1 describes the item pool development for an initial version of the MEI comprising various steps (compilation of items, expert ratings, focus groups and think aloud protocols by laypersons). Within Study 2, the factor structure of this initial version was explored in an online sample of N = 828 participants and the item pool was shortened via a sequential process based on statistical and content-related considerations. Exploratory factor analyses yielded a seven-factor structure. This structure could be confirmed within Study 3 on an independent online sample of N = 612 participants using confirmatory factor analysis. Criterion validity was supported by hypotheses-confirming correlations with eating-specific and global health-relevant outcomes.
Conclusion:
Our findings demonstrate that the MEI is a valid and reliable (in terms of internal consistency and retest-reliability) tool, which allows for a comprehensive assessment of various ME attitudes and behaviors within one parsimonious inventory. It further enabled us to propose a so far missing, initial scientific operational definition of this eating-specific construct, that may help to advance future research and clinical application by clarifying mechanisms of action.
The force of numbers
(2021)
The study has two objectives: (1) to introduce grip force recording as a new technique for studying embodied numerical processing; and (2) to demonstrate how three competing accounts of numerical magnitude representation can be tested by using this new technique: the Mental Number Line (MNL), A Theory of Magnitude (ATOM) and Embodied Cognition (finger counting-based) account. While 26 healthy adults processed visually presented single digits in a go/no-go n-back paradigm, their passive holding forces for two small sensors were recorded in both hands. Spontaneous and unconscious grip force changes related to number magnitude occurred in the left hand already 100-140 ms after stimulus presentation and continued systematically. Our results support a two-step model of number processing where an initial stage is related to the automatic activation of all stimulus properties whereas a later stage consists of deeper conscious processing of the stimulus. This interpretation generalizes previous work with linguistic stimuli and elaborates the timeline of embodied cognition. We hope that the use of grip force recording will advance the field of numerical cognition research.
Objective:
Therapist competence is considered essential for the success of psychotherapy. Feedback is an intervention which has the potential to improve therapist competence. The present study investigated whether competence feedback leads to an improvement of therapist competence and patient outcome.
Method:
Sixty-seven master-level clinical trainees were randomly assigned to either a competence feedback group (CFG) or a control group (CG). Patients with a diagnosis of major depression (N = 114) were randomly assigned to CFG or CG. Treatment included 20 individual sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). In CFG, therapists received, parallel to the treatment, five competence feedbacks, based on videotaped therapy sessions. Independent raters assessed therapist competence with the Cognitive Therapy Scale (CTS) and provided the competence feedback. Patient outcome was evaluated with the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and therapeutic alliance (Helping Alliance Questionnaire [HAQ]) from both therapist's (HAQ-T) and patient's (HAQ-P) perspective were evaluated after each of the 20 sessions.
Results:
(a) Therapist competence (CTS) increased significantly more for CFG than CG. (b) Depression (BDI-II) decreased significantly across sessions for both groups, but without evidence for a group-differential benefit for the CFG. (c) Therapeutic alliance (HAQ-T/P) increased significantly across sessions for both groups from both perspectives, but without group differences. (d) There is a positive effect of BDI-II on CTS at the beginning and a negative effect of CTS on BDI-II at the end of therapy.
Conclusion:
Competence feedback improves therapists' independently rated competence, but there is no evidence that competence feedback in CBT leads to better outcome.
What is the public health significance of this article? This study suggests the substantial value of systematic competence feedback for improving therapist competence in the psychotherapy of depression. No significant effect of competence feedback on the reduction of reported depressive symptoms was found.
Previous studies (Hyona, Yan, & Vainio, 2018; Yan et al., 2014) have demonstrated that in morphologically rich languages a word's morphological status is processed parafoveally to be used in modulating saccadic programming in reading. In the present parafoveal preview study conducted in Finnish, we examined the exact nature of this effect by comparing reading of morphologically complex words (a stem + two suffixes) to that of monomorphemic words. In the preview-change condition, the final 3-4 letters were replaced with other letters making the target word a pseudoword; for suffixed words, the word stem remained intact but the suffix information was unavailable; for monomorphemic words, only part of the stem was parafoveally available. Three alternative predictions were put forth. According to the first alternative, the morphological effect in initial fixation location is due to parafoveally perceiving the suffix as a highly frequent letter cluster and then adjusting the saccade program to land closer to the word beginning for suffixed than monomorphemic words. The second alternative, the processing difficulty hypothesis, assumes a morphological complexity effect: suffixed words are more complex than monomorphemic words. Therefore, the attentional window is narrower and the saccade is shorter. The third alternative posits that the effect reflects parafoveal access to the word's stem. The results for the initial fixation location and fixation durations were consistent with the parafoveal stem-access view.
We describe a mathematically simple yet precise model of activation suppression that can explain the negative-going delta plots often observed in standard Simon tasks. The model postulates a race between the identification of the relevant stimulus attribute and the suppression of irrelevant location-based activation, with the irrelevant activation only having an effect if the irrelevant activation is still present at the moment when central processing of the relevant attribute starts. The model can be fitted by maximum likelihood to observed distributions of RTs in congruent and incongruent trials, and it provides good fits to two previously-reported data sets with plausible parameter values. R and MATLAB software for use with the model is provided.
Parents, peers, and teachers provide a powerful context for school students' well-being. However, a detailed and systematic analysis of how parental, peer, and teacher support relate to students' well-being, measured by the dimensions self-worth, psychological and physical well-being, is still missing. To address this research gap, the following study investigates 733 adolescent German students from grades 7 and 8 (M-age = 13.97, SD = 0.41, 52% girls) with respect to their perceived supportive relationships at home and within the school context. The study considers gender, socioeconomic status, and school form as potential confounders. The results of the structural equation model, analyzed with the statistical software R, indicate that perceived teacher support was positively related to students' self-worth and physical well-being, while peer support was related to psychological well-being. Students who perceived their parents as supportive reported higher well-being with respect to all three dimensions investigated.
Lee and Schwarz (L&S) suggest that separation is the grounded procedure underlying cleansing effects in different psychological domains. Here, we interpret L&S's account from a hierarchical view of cognition that considers the influence of physical properties and sensorimotor constraints on mental representations. This approach allows theoretical integration and generalization of L&S's account to the domain of formal quantitative reasoning.
Background:
Many authors regard counseling self-efficacy (CSE) as important in therapist development and training. The purpose of this study was to examine the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the German version of the Counselor Activity Self-Efficacy Scales-Revised (CASES-R).
Method:
The sample consisted of 670 German psychotherapy trainees, who completed an online survey. We examined the factor structure by applying exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis to the instrument as a whole.
Results:
A bifactor-exploratory structural equation modeling model with one general and five specific factors provided the best fit to the data. Omega hierarchical coefficients indicated optimal reliability for the general factor, acceptable reliability for the Action Skills-Revised (AS-R) factor, and insufficient estimates for the remaining factors. The CASES-R scales yielded significant correlations with related measures, but also with therapeutic orientations.
Conclusion:
We found support for the reliability and validity of the German CASES-R. However, the subdomains (except AS-R) should be interpreted with caution, and we do not recommend the CASES-R for comparisons between psychotherapeutic orientations.
Speech is perceived with both the ears and the eyes. Adding congruent visual speech improves the perception of a faint auditory speech stimulus, whereas adding incongruent visual speech can alter the perception of the utterance. The latter phenomenon is the case of the McGurk illusion, where an auditory stimulus such as e.g. "ba" dubbed onto a visual stimulus such as "ga" produces the illusion of hearing "da". Bayesian models of multisensory perception suggest that both the enhancement and the illusion case can be described as a two-step process of binding (informed by prior knowledge) and fusion (informed by the information reliability of each sensory cue). However, there is to date no study which has accounted for how they each contribute to audiovisual speech perception. In this study, we expose subjects to both congruent and incongruent audiovisual speech, manipulating the binding and the fusion stages simultaneously. This is done by varying both temporal offset (binding) and auditory and visual signal-to-noise ratio (fusion). We fit two Bayesian models to the behavioural data and show that they can both account for the enhancement effect in congruent audiovisual speech, as well as the McGurk illusion. This modelling approach allows us to disentangle the effects of binding and fusion on behavioural responses. Moreover, we find that these models have greater predictive power than a forced fusion model. This study provides a systematic and quantitative approach to measuring audiovisual integration in the perception of the McGurk illusion as well as congruent audiovisual speech, which we hope will inform future work on audiovisual speech perception.
There has been increasing interest in the spatial mapping of various perceptual and cognitive magnitudes, such as expanding the spatial-numerical association of response codes (SNARC) effect into domains outside of numerical cognition. Recently, De Tommaso and Prpic (Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 82, 2765-2773, 2020) reported in this journal that only fast tempos over 104 beats per minute have spatial associations, with more right-sided associations and faster responses for faster tempos. After discussing the role of perceived loudness and possible response strategies, we propose and recommend methodological improvements for further research.
Neural signatures of temporal regularity and recurring patterns in random tonal sound sequences
(2021)
The auditory system is highly sensitive to recurring patterns in the acoustic input - even in otherwise unstructured material, such as white noise or random tonal sequences. Electroencephalography (EEG) research revealed a characteristic negative potential to periodically recurring auditory patterns - a response, which has been interpreted as memory trace-related and specific, rather than as a sign of periodicity-driven entrainment. Here, we aim to disentangle these two possible contributions by investigating the influence of a periodic sound sequence's inherent temporal regularity on event-related potentials. Participants were presented continuous sequences of short tones of random pitch, with some sequences containing a recurring pattern, and asked to indicate whether they heard a repetition. Patterns were either spaced equally across the random sequence (isochronous condition) or with a temporal jitter (jittered condition), which enabled us to differentiate between event-related potentials (and thus processing operations associated with a memory trace for a repeated pattern) and the periodic nature of the repetitions. A negative recurrence-related component could be observed independently of temporal regularity, was pattern-specific, and modulated by across trial repetition of the pattern. Critically, isochronous pattern repetition induced an additional early periodicity-related positive component, which started to build up already before the pattern onset and which was elicited undampedly even when the repeated pattern was occasionally not presented. This positive component likely reflects a sensory driven entrainment process that could be the foundation of a behavioural benefit in detecting temporally regular repetitions.
This article presents results of an exploratory investigation combining multimodal cohesion analysis and eye-tracking studies. Multimodal cohesion, as a tool of multimodal discourse analysis, goes beyond lin-guistic cohesive mechanisms to enable the construction of cross-modal discourse structures that system-atically relate technical details of audio, visual and verbal modalities. Patterns of multimodal cohesion from these discourse structures were used to design eye-tracking experiments and questionnaires in order to empirically investigate how auditory and visual cohesive cues affect attention and comprehen-sion. We argue that the cross-modal structures of cohesion revealed by our method offer a strong methodology for addressing empirical questions concerning viewers' comprehension of narrative settings and the comparative salience of visual, verbal and audio cues. Analyses are presented of the beginning of Hitchcock's The Birds (1963) and a sketch from Monty Python filmed in 1971. Our approach balances the narrative-based issue of how narrative elements in film guide meaning interpretation and the recipient -based question of where a film viewer's attention is directed during viewing and how this affects comprehension.
Sequential data assimilation of the stochastic SEIR epidemic model for regional COVID-19 dynamics
(2021)
Newly emerging pandemics like COVID-19 call for predictive models to implement precisely tuned responses to limit their deep impact on society. Standard epidemic models provide a theoretically well-founded dynamical description of disease incidence. For COVID-19 with infectiousness peaking before and at symptom onset, the SEIR model explains the hidden build-up of exposed individuals which creates challenges for containment strategies. However, spatial heterogeneity raises questions about the adequacy of modeling epidemic outbreaks on the level of a whole country. Here, we show that by applying sequential data assimilation to the stochastic SEIR epidemic model, we can capture the dynamic behavior of outbreaks on a regional level. Regional modeling, with relatively low numbers of infected and demographic noise, accounts for both spatial heterogeneity and stochasticity. Based on adapted models, short-term predictions can be achieved. Thus, with the help of these sequential data assimilation methods, more realistic epidemic models are within reach.
Emotional memories are better remembered than neutral ones, but the mechanisms leading to this memory bias are not well under-stood in humans yet. Based on animal research, it is suggested that the memory-enhancing effect of emotion is based on central nor-adrenergic release, which is triggered by afferent vagal nerve activation. To test the causal link between vagus nerve activation and emotional memory in humans, we applied continuous noninvasive transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) during exposure to emotional arousing and neutral scenes and tested subsequent, long-term recognition memory after 1 week. We found that taVNS, compared with sham, increased recollection-based memory performance for emotional, but not neutral, material. These findings were complemented by larger recollection-related brain potentials (parietal ERP Old/New effect) during retrieval of emotional scenes encoded under taVNS, compared with sham. Furthermore, brain potentials recorded during encoding also revealed that taVNS facilitated early attentional discrimination between emotional and neutral scenes. Extending animal research, our behavioral and neu-ral findings confirm a modulatory influence of the vagus nerve in emotional memory formation in humans.
Skilled reading requires information processing of the fixated and the not-yet-fixated words to generate precise control of gaze. Over the last 30 years, experimental research provided evidence that word processing is distributed across the perceptual span, which permits recognition of the fixated (foveal) word as well as preview of parafoveal words to the right of fixation. However, theoretical models have been unable to differentiate the specific influences of foveal and parafoveal information on saccade control. Here we show how parafoveal word difficulty modulates spatial and temporal control of gaze in a computational model to reproduce experimental results. In a fully Bayesian framework, we estimated model parameters for different models of parafoveal processing and carried out large-scale predictive simulations and model comparisons for a gaze-contingent reading experiment. We conclude that mathematical modeling of data from gaze-contingent experiments permits the precise identification of pathways from parafoveal information processing to gaze control, uncovering potential mechanisms underlying the parafoveal contribution to eye-movement control.
Self-compassion and coping
(2021)
Objectives:
Self-compassion, a positive and caring attitude toward oneself, has been identified as an important correlate of coping in stressful situations. High self-compassion is related to higher use of adaptive and less maladaptive coping in demanding or painful situations. However, estimates of these relations in terms of specific adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies have remained inconclusive. Therefore, the present meta-analysis investigates the relation between self-compassion and different forms of adaptive and maladaptive coping. It also takes into account potential moderators such as age, gender, and regional background.
Methods:
A systematic literature search resulted in k = 136 samples with an overall sample size of N = 38,913. Random-effects models were used to integrate the z-transformed Pearson correlation coefficients.
Results:
Analyses yielded a positive correlation between self-compassion and adaptive coping (r = .306) and a negative correlation between self-compassion and maladaptive coping (r = - .500). The association of self-compassion with emotional approach coping was positive (r = .340), as was the association with problem-focused coping (r = .205). Participants' age appeared to be a significant moderator of the relation between self-compassion and coping.
Conclusions:
Self-compassion is important for understanding the mechanisms involved in coping with stress and demanding life events. The size and direction of correlations depend on the coping strategies considered, with protective effects of self-compassion with respect to maladaptive coping being the most pronounced. Further research should examine the relation between self-compassion and coping in more detail and focus on additional moderators.
Skilled reading requires information processing of the fixated and the not-yet-fixated words to generate precise control of gaze. Over the last 30 years, experimental research provided evidence that word processing is distributed across the perceptual span, which permits recognition of the fixated (foveal) word as well as preview of parafoveal words to the right of fixation. However, theoretical models have been unable to differentiate the specific influences of foveal and parafoveal information on saccade control. Here we show how parafoveal word difficulty modulates spatial and temporal control of gaze in a computational model to reproduce experimental results. In a fully Bayesian framework, we estimated model parameters for different models of parafoveal processing and carried out large-scale predictive simulations and model comparisons for a gaze-contingent reading experiment. We conclude that mathematical modeling of data from gaze-contingent experiments permits the precise identification of pathways from parafoveal information processing to gaze control, uncovering potential mechanisms underlying the parafoveal contribution to eye-movement control.
This study examines the long-term dynamics of social stressors at work, psychological detachment, and their impact on employee well-being. Previous research has shown that social stressors are detrimental for employee well-being and the ability to mentally detach from work. However, longitudinal studies in this field are scarce, and typically, they only explore whether the level of stressors, or of detachment, at a given point in time has an effect on outcomes. That stressors and detachment may change over time, and that this change may have an independent effect in the process, has rarely been taken into consideration. Thus, it is unclear to what extent long-term dynamic effects also play a role in these relations. To address this question, we investigated whether change in detachment explains the long-term indirect relationship of change in perceived social stressors with change in emotional exhaustion and mental well-being. Data were taken from a longitudinal study of N = 246 registered nurses with up to 3 measurements over 1 year. Analyses were conducted with latent difference scores using a proportional change model. Results revealed that a decline in psychological detachment mediated the long-term effects of increases in social stressors at the workplace on subsequent change in emotional exhaustion and mental well-being. Thus, our study provides initial evidence for the underlying long-term dynamic nature of relationships among social stressors, detachment, and employee well-being, highlighting the incremental explanatory power of change in social stressors and in detachment, above and beyond their respective levels, in predicting change in well-being.
Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) both are rare genetic neuromuscular diseases with progressive loss of motor ability. The neuromotor developmental course of those diseases is well documented. In contrast, there is only little evidence about characteristics of general and specific cognitive development. In both conditions the final motor outcome is characterized by an inability to move autonomously: children with SMA never accomplish independent motoric exploration of their environment, while children with DMD do but later lose this ability again. These profound differences in developmental pathways might affect cognitive development of SMA vs. DMD children, as cognition is shaped by individual motor experiences. DMD patients show impaired executive functions, working memory, and verbal IQ, whereas only motor ability seems to be impaired in SMA. Advanced cognitive capacity in SMA may serve as a compensatory mechanism for achieving in education, career progression, and social satisfaction. This study aimed to relate differences in basic numerical concepts and arithmetic achievement in SMA and DMD patients to differences in their motor development and resulting sensorimotor and environmental experiences. Horizontal and vertical spatial-numerical associations were explored in SMA/DMD children ranging between 6 and 12 years through the random number generation task. Furthermore, arithmetic skills as well as general cognitive ability were assessed. Groups differed in spatial number processing as well as in arithmetic and domain-general cognitive functions. Children with SMA showed no horizontal and even reversed vertical spatial-numerical associations. Children with DMD on the other hand revealed patterns in spatial numerical associations comparable to healthy developing children. From the embodied Cognition perspective, early sensorimotor experience does play a role in development of mental number representations. However, it remains open whether and how this becomes relevant for the acquisition of higher order cognitive and arithmetic skills.
Aufgrund der Neuregelung der Psychotherapieausbildung dürften derzeit an fast allen Psychologie-Ausbildungsstandorten die Beratungen über zukünftige Masterstudiengänge in vollem Gang sein. Da die Ausgestaltung der Studiengänge für unser Fach von großer Bedeutung ist, haben DGPs und Fakultätentag zahlreiche Empfehlungen gegeben, die dazu beitragen sollen, dass sich das Psychologie-Studium auch zukünftig an geteilten Standards orientiert. Basierend auf Beratungen in der DGPs-Kommission „Studium und Lehre“ stellt der vorliegende Beitrag die zentralen Empfehlungen und Ressourcen in übersichtlicher Form zusammen und liefert so ein How-to für die Konzeption psychologischer Masterstudiengänge. Gleichzeitig werden die wichtigsten Argumente für die Empfehlungen dargelegt.
Purpose:
This study aimed to investigate the correlation between mindful eating and nutritional intake, food consumption, and healthful and unhealthful plant-based dietary patterns in young Japanese women.
Methods:
The sample comprised 215 female undergraduates who responded to a two-questionnaire anonymous survey conducted in Tokyo, Japan in 2018 and 2019 from November to December. We measured mindful eating status using the Expanded Mindful Eating Scale (EMES) and used Japanese plant-based dietary indices to determine plant-based dietary patterns. Partial correlation analyses were conducted to determine the correlation of mindful eating with energy and nutrient intake, food consumption, and plant-based dietary patterns, after adjusting for demographics and body mass index.
Results:
Participants with higher sub-scores in "health of the planet" and "awareness and appreciation for food" ate higher quantities of several micronutrients and plant-based foods and were more likely to have a healthful plant-based dietary pattern. They were also less likely to have an unhealthful plant-based dietary pattern. In contrast, participants with higher scores in "non-judgmental awareness" ate less protein, whole grains, and vegetables, and were likely to have an unhealthful plant-based dietary pattern.
Conclusion:
This study is the first to show that young Japanese women with normal or lean body weight were more likely to consume healthful plant-based foods when they ate mindfully.
Level V:
Opinions of respected authorities, based on descriptive studies, narrative reviews, clinical experience, or reports of expert committees.
Later chronotype is associated with unhealthful plant-based diet quality in young Japanese women
(2021)
Background:
Having a late chronotype, that is, the tendency to go to sleep and wake up at later hours, influences an individual's physical and mental health. Despite a few studies noting the association of chronotype with healthy dietary patterns, this relationship remains unclear.
Purpose:
This study aimed to describe the association of chronotype with healthful and unhealthful plant-based diet quality in female Japanese undergraduate students.
Design:
Cross-sectional.
Participants and setting:
A total of 218 female university students in Tokyo, Japan.
Main outcome measures:
Healthful and unhealthful plant-based dietary index-Japanese version (hPDI-J and uPDIJ), calculated using the validated brief-type self-administered diet history questionnaire.
Statistical analyses performed:
A five-model stepwise multiple linear regression analysis was conducted. Independent variables were hPDI-J and uPDI-J scores, and dependent variables were various lifestyle habits related to the circadian rhythm and demographic characteristics.
Results:
Mean (standard deviation) sleep duration, midpoint of sleep, sleep latency time, and social jetlag were 411 (60) min, 03:56 (00:57), 21 (27) min, and 50 (39) min, respectively. Chronotype and several variables, such as residential status, energy and alcohol intake, and nutritional knowledge, were associated with healthful and unhealthful plant-based diet quality. Individuals who had higher hPDI-J scores were more likely to have an earlier chronotype (13 = -0.168, P = 0.019) and better nutritional knowledge (13 = 0.164, P = 0.022) than those with lower hPDI-J scores. Individuals were more likely to have higher uPDI-J scores if they were living alone (13 = -0.301, P < 0.001), had a later chronotype (13 = 0.181, P = 0.001), higher frequency of snacking (13 = 0.164, P = 0.019), lower total energy (13 = -0.445, P < 0.001), and worse nutritional knowledge (13 = -0.172, P = 0.001).
Conclusion:
This study provided new evidence as to the relationship between sleep and dietary habits, the interaction of which may affect women's health.
For efficient and effective pedagogical interventions to address Uganda's alarmingly poor performance in Physics, it is vital to understand students' motivation patterns for Physics learning. Latent profile analysis (LPA)-a person-centred approach-can be used to investigate these motivation patterns. Using a three-step approach to LPA, we sought to answer the following research questions: RQ1, which profiles of secondary school students exist with regards to their motivation for Physics learning; RQ2, are there differences in students' cognitive learning strategies in the identified profiles; and RQ3, does students' gender, attitudes, and individual interest predict membership in these profiles? The sample comprised 934 Grade 9 students from eight secondary schools in Uganda. Data were collected using standardised questionnaires. Six motivational profiles were identified: (i) low-quantity motivation profile (101 students; 10.8%); (ii) moderate-quantity motivation profile (246 students; 26.3%); (iii) high-quantity motivation profile (365 students; 39.1%); (iv) primarily intrinsically motivated profile (60 students, 6.4%); (v) mostly extrinsically motivated profile (88 students, 9.4%); and (vi) grade-introjected profile (74 students, 7.9%). Low-quantity and grade-introjected motivated students mostly used surface learning strategies whilst the high-quantity and primarily intrinsically motivated students used deep learning strategies. Lastly, unlike gender, individual interest and students' attitudes towards Physics learning predicted profile membership. Teachers should provide an interesting autonomous Physics classroom climate and give students clear instructions in self-reliant behaviours that promote intrinsic motivation.
This study investigated whether transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) enhances reversal learning and augments noradrenergic biomarkers (i.e., pupil size, cortisol, and salivary alpha-amylase [sAA]). We also explored the effect of taVNS on respiratory rate and cardiac vagal activity (CVA). Seventy-one participants received stimulation of either the cymba concha (taVNS) or the earlobe (sham) of the left ear. After learning a series of cue-outcome associations, the stimulation was applied before and throughout a reversal phase in which cue-outcome associations were changed for some (reversal), but not for other (distractor) cues. Tonic pupil size, salivary cortisol, sAA, respiratory rate, and CVA were assessed at different time points. Contrary to our hypothesis, taVNS was not associated with an overall improvement in performance on the reversal task. Compared to sham, the taVNS group performed worse for distractor than reversal cues. taVNS did not increase tonic pupil size and sAA. Only post hoc analyses indicated that the cortisol decline was steeper in the sham compared to the taVNS group. Exploratory analyses showed that taVNS decreased respiratory rate but did not affect CVA. The weak and unexpected effects found in this study might relate to the lack of parameters optimization for taVNS and invite to further investigate the effect of taVNS on cortisol and respiratory rate.
Language production ultimately aims to convey meaning. Yet words differ widely in the richness and density of their semantic representations, and these differences impact conceptual and lexical processes during speech planning. Here, we replicated the recent finding that semantic richness, measured as the number of associated semantic features according to semantic feature production norms, facilitates object naming. In contrast, intercorrelational semantic feature density, measured as the degree of intercorrelation of a concept's features, presumably resulting in the coactivation of closely related concepts, has an inhibitory influence. We replicated the behavioral effects and investigated their relative time course and electrophysiological correlates. Both the facilitatory effect of high semantic richness and the inhibitory influence of high feature density were reflected in an increased posterior positivity starting at about 250 ms, in line with previous reports of posterior positivities in paradigms employing contextual manipulations to induce semantic interference during language production. Furthermore, amplitudes at the same posterior electrode sites were positively correlated with object naming times between about 230 and 380 ms. The observed effects follow naturally from the assumption of conceptual facilitation and simultaneous lexical competition and are difficult to explain by language production theories dismissing lexical competition.
Previous studies have not considered the potential influence of maturity status on the relationship between mental imagery and change of direction (CoD) speed in youth soccer. Accordingly, this cross-sectional study examined the association between mental imagery and CoD performance in young elite soccer players of different maturity status. Forty young male soccer players, aged 10-17 years, were assigned into two groups according to their predicted age at peak height velocity (PHV) (Pre-PHV; n = 20 and Post-PHV; n = 20). Participants were evaluated on soccer-specific tests of CoD with (CoDBall-15m) and without (CoD-15m) the ball. Participants completed the movement imagery questionnaire (MIQ) with the three- dimensional structure, internal visual imagery (IVI), external visual imagery (EVI), as well as kinesthetic imagery (KI). The Post-PHV players achieved significantly better results than Pre-PHV in EVI (ES = 1.58, large; p < 0.001), CoD-15m (ES = 2.09, very large; p < 0.001) and CoDBall-15m (ES = 1.60, large; p < 0.001). Correlations were significantly different between maturity groups, where, for the pre-PHV group, a negative very large correlation was observed between CoDBall-15m and KI (r = –0.73, p = 0.001). For the post-PHV group, large negative correlations were observed between CoD-15m and IVI (r = –0.55, p = 0.011), EVI (r = –062, p = 0.003), and KI (r = –0.52, p = 0.020). A large negative correlation of CoDBall-15m with EVI (r = –0.55, p = 0.012) and very large correlation with KI (r = –0.79, p = 0.001) were also observed. This study provides evidence of the theoretical and practical use for the CoD tasks stimulus with imagery. We recommend that sport psychology specialists, coaches, and athletes integrated imagery for CoD tasks in pre-pubertal soccer players to further improve CoD related performance.
Mental health problems remain among the main generators of costs within and beyond the health care system. Psychotherapy, the tool of choice in their treatment, is qualified by social interaction, and cooperation within the therapist-patient-dyad. Research into the factors influencing therapy success to date is neither exhaustive nor conclusive. Among many others, the quality of the relationship between therapist and patient stands out regardless of the followed psychotherapy school. Emerging research points to a connection between interpersonal synchronization within the sessions and therapy outcome. Consequently, it can be considered significant for the shaping of this relationship. The framework of Embodied Cognition assumes bodily and neuronal correlates of thinking. Therefore, the present paper reviews investigations on interpersonal, non-verbal synchrony in two domains: firstly, studies on interpersonal synchrony in psychotherapy are reviewed (synchronization of movement). Secondly, findings on neurological correlates of interpersonal synchrony (assessed with EEG, fMRI, fNIRS) are summarized in a narrative manner. In addition, the question is asked whether interpersonal synchrony can be achieved voluntarily on an individual level. It is concluded that there might be mechanisms which could give more insights into therapy success, but as of yet remain uninvestigated. Further, the framework of embodied cognition applies more to the current body of evidence than classical cognitivist views. Nevertheless, deeper research into interpersonal physical and neurological processes utilizing the framework of Embodied Cognition emerges as a possible route of investigation on the road to lower drop-out rates, improved and quality-controlled therapeutic interventions, thereby significantly reducing healthcare costs.
Female role models in video games are rare, and if they are present, they are often heavily sexualized. Objectification theory suggests that exposure to sexualized media characters increases self-objectification and decreases body satisfaction in female users. This study investigated the effect of playing a video game with a sexualized versus a nonsexualized character on women's experiences of self-objectification and body satisfaction. We further studied the effect of character personalization as a core feature of video games on the relation between sexualized avatars, self-objectification and body satisfaction. N = 262 female participants reported state self-objectification and body satisfaction after 30 min of playing the video game The Sims 4 with a sexualized or nonsexualized avatar that was either generic or personalized to look like the participant. We predicted that controlling for trait self-objectification, playing the game with a sexualized character would increase state self-objectification, especially in the personalized condition. Regarding the effect of character sexualization on body satisfaction, competing hypotheses based on priming vs. the Proteus effect were tested, considering character personalization and enjoyment of sexualization as moderators and controlling for trait body satisfaction. The current study did not find evidence for the proposed hypotheses. The findings are discussed in terms of the relevance of objectification theory in explaining effects of sexualized models in interactive media.
Sexual scripts serve as cognitive representations of typical elements of sexual interactions that guide sexual behavior. To the extent that cognitive scripts for consensual sex comprise elements associated with a risk of experiencing nonconsensual sex, they may be indirectly linked to sexual victimization via risky sexual behavior. A longitudinal study with 2,425 college students in Germany (58% female) examined pathways from sexual scripts for consensual sex, sexual behavior, and sexual victimization over three data waves separated by 12-month intervals. Sexual scripts and behavior were defined as risky to the extent that they include known vulnerability factors for sexual victimization (casual sex, alcohol consumption, ambiguous communication of sexual intentions). Path analyses confirmed that more risky sexual scripts prospectively predicted more risky sexual behavior, which predicted higher odds of sexual victimization. The findings held for men and women and participants with exclusively opposite-sex and both same- and opposite-sex contacts. Moreover, reciprocal influences between risky scripts and risky sexual behavior were found over time, confirming the proposed mutual reinforcement of scripts and behavior. The findings have implications for conceptualizing the role of scripts for consensual sex as vulnerability factors for sexual victimization among women and men and may inform intervention efforts.
The voice gives it away
(2021)
Two experiments examined the impact of voice pitch on gender stereotyping. Participants listened to a text read by a female (Study 1; N = 171) or male (Study 2, N = 151) speaker, whose voice pitch was manipulated to be high or low. They rated the speaker on positive and negative facets of masculinity and femininity, competence, and likability. They also indicated their own gendered self-concept. High pitch was associated with the ascription of more feminine traits and greater likability. The high-pitch female speaker was rated as less competent, and the high-pitch male speaker was perceived as less masculine. Text content and participants' gendered self-concept did not moderate the pitch effect. The findings underline the importance of voice pitch for impression formation.
Adult-child interactions can support children's development and are established as predictors of program quality in early childhood settings. However, the linguistic components that constitute positive interactions have not yet been studied in detail. This study investigates the effects of hypotheses proposed by adults on children's responses in a dyadic picture-book viewing situation. In 2 experiments, adults' use of hypotheses (e.g., "Maybe this is a dwarf's door") was tested against the use of instructive statements ("This is a dwarf's door") and in combination with open questions ("What do you think, why is the door so small?"). In Experiment 1, hypotheses differed from instructions only by the modal marker "maybe". Children's responses to hypotheses were longer and contained more self-generated explanations as compared to responses to instructions. The use of hypotheses also seemed to encourage children to attach more importance to their own explanations. In Experiment 2, combining hypotheses with open-ended why questions elicited longer responses but no more self-generated explanations in children than openended questions alone. Results indicate that subtle differences in adults' utterances can directly influence children's reasoning and children's contributions to dialogues.
Postural balance represents a fundamental movement skill for the successful performance of everyday and sport-related activities. There is ample evidence on the effectiveness of balance training on balance performance in athletic and non-athletic population. However, less is known on potential transfer effects of other training types, such as plyometric jump training (PJT) on measures of balance. Given that PJT is a highly dynamic exercise mode with various forms of jump-landing tasks, high levels of postural control are needed to successfully perform PJT exercises. Accordingly, PJT has the potential to not only improve measures of muscle strength and power but also balance. To systematically review and synthetize evidence from randomized and non-randomized controlled trials regarding the effects of PJT on measures of balance in apparently healthy participants. Systematic literature searches were performed in the electronic databases PubMed, Web of Science, and SCOPUS. A PICOS approach was applied to define inclusion criteria, (i) apparently healthy participants, with no restrictions on their fitness level, sex, or age, (ii) a PJT program, (iii) active controls (any sport-related activity) or specific active controls (a specific exercise type such as balance training), (iv) assessment of dynamic, static balance pre- and post-PJT, (v) randomized controlled trials and controlled trials. The methodological quality of studies was assessed using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale. This meta-analysis was computed using the inverse variance random-effects model. The significance level was set at p <0.05. The initial search retrieved 8,251 plus 23 records identified through other sources. Forty-two articles met our inclusion criteria for qualitative and 38 for quantitative analysis (1,806 participants [990 males, 816 females], age range 9–63 years). PJT interventions lasted between 4 and 36 weeks. The median PEDro score was 6 and no study had low methodological quality (≤3). The analysis revealed significant small effects of PJT on overall (dynamic and static) balance (ES = 0.46; 95% CI = 0.32–0.61; p < 0.001), dynamic (e.g., Y-balance test) balance (ES = 0.50; 95% CI = 0.30–0.71; p < 0.001), and static (e.g., flamingo balance test) balance (ES = 0.49; 95% CI = 0.31–0.67; p < 0.001). The moderator analyses revealed that sex and/or age did not moderate balance performance outcomes. When PJT was compared to specific active controls (i.e., participants undergoing balance training, whole body vibration training, resistance training), both PJT and alternative training methods showed similar effects on overall (dynamic and static) balance (p = 0.534). Specifically, when PJT was compared to balance training, both training types showed similar effects on overall (dynamic and static) balance (p = 0.514). Conclusion: Compared to active controls, PJT showed small effects on overall balance, dynamic and static balance. Additionally, PJT produced similar balance improvements compared to other training types (i.e., balance training). Although PJT is widely used in athletic and recreational sport settings to improve athletes' physical fitness (e.g., jumping; sprinting), our systematic review with meta-analysis is novel in as much as it indicates that PJT also improves balance performance. The observed PJT-related balance enhancements were irrespective of sex and participants' age. Therefore, PJT appears to be an adequate training regime to improve balance in both, athletic and recreational settings.
Looking times and gaze behavior indicate that infants can predict the goal state of an observed simple action event (e.g., object-directed grasping) already in the first year of life. The present paper mainly focuses on infants' predictive gaze-shifts toward the goal of an ongoing action. For this, infants need to generate a forward model of the to-be-obtained goal state and to disengage their gaze from the moving agent at a time when information about the action event is still incomplete. By about 6 months of age, infants show goal-predictive gaze-shifts, but mainly for familiar actions that they can perform themselves (e.g., grasping) and for familiar agents (e.g., a human hand). Therefore, some theoretical models have highlighted close relations between infants' ability for action-goal prediction and their motor development and/or emerging action experience. Recent research indicates that infants can also predict action goals of familiar simple actions performed by non-human agents (e.g., object-directed grasping by a mechanical claw) when these agents display agency cues, such as self-propelled movement, equifinality of goal approach, or production of a salient action effect. This paper provides a review on relevant findings and theoretical models, and proposes that the impacts of action experience and of agency cues can be explained from an action-event perspective. In particular, infants' goal-predictive gaze-shifts are seen as resulting from an interplay between bottom-up processing of perceptual information and top-down influences exerted by event schemata that store information about previously executed or observed actions.
During the observation of goal-directed actions, infants usually predict the goal at an earlier age when the agent is familiar (e.g., human hand) compared to unfamiliar (e.g., mechanical claw). These findings implicate a crucial role of the developing agentive self for infants' processing of others' action goals. Recent theoretical accounts suggest that predictive gaze behavior relies on an interplay between infants' agentive experience (top-down processes) and perceptual information about the agent and the action-event (bottom-up information; e.g., agency cues). The present study examined 7-, 11-, and 18-month-old infants' predictive gaze behavior for a grasping action performed by an unfamiliar tool, depending on infants' age-related action knowledge about tool-use and the display of the agency cue of producing a salient action effect. The results are in line with the notion of a systematic interplay between experience-based top-down processes and cue-based bottom-up information: Regardless of the salient action effect, predictive gaze shifts did not occur in the 7-month-olds (least experienced age group), but did occur in the 18-month-olds (most experienced age group). In the 11-month-olds, however, predictive gaze shifts occurred only when a salient action effect was presented. This sheds new light on how the developing agentive self, in interplay with available agency cues, supports infants' action-goal prediction also for observed tool-use actions.
In eye-movement control during reading, advanced process-oriented models have been developed to reproduce behavioral data. So far, model complexity and large numbers of model parameters prevented rigorous statistical inference and modeling of interindividual differences. Here we propose a Bayesian approach to both problems for one representative computational model of sentence reading (SWIFT; Engbert et al., Psychological Review, 112, 2005, pp. 777-813). We used experimental data from 36 subjects who read the text in a normal and one of four manipulated text layouts (e.g., mirrored and scrambled letters). The SWIFT model was fitted to subjects and experimental conditions individually to investigate between- subject variability. Based on posterior distributions of model parameters, fixation probabilities and durations are reliably recovered from simulated data and reproduced for withheld empirical data, at both the experimental condition and subject levels. A subsequent statistical analysis of model parameters across reading conditions generates model-driven explanations for observable effects between conditions.