@article{MuellerRichterKarageorgosetal.2017, author = {M{\"u}ller, Bettina and Richter, Tobias and Karageorgos, Panagiotis and Krawietz, Sabine and Ennemoser, Marco}, title = {Effects of a syllable-based reading intervention in poor-reading fourth graders}, series = {Frontiers in Psychology}, volume = {8}, journal = {Frontiers in Psychology}, number = {1635}, doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01635}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-158841}, year = {2017}, abstract = {In transparent orthographies, persistent reading fluency difficulties are a major cause of poor reading skills in primary school. The purpose of the present study was to investigate effects of a syllable-based reading intervention on word reading fluency and reading comprehension among German-speaking poor readers in Grade 4. The 16-session intervention was based on analyzing the syllabic structure of words to strengthen the mental representations of syllables and words that consist of these syllables. The training materials were designed using the 500 most frequent syllables typically read by fourth graders. The 75 poor readers were randomly allocated to the treatment or the control group. Results indicate a significant and strong effect on the fluency of recognizing single words, whereas text-level reading comprehension was not significantly improved by the training. The specific treatment effect provides evidence that a short syllable-based approach works even in older poor readers at the end of primary school.}, language = {en} } @article{FlechsenharGamer2017, author = {Flechsenhar, Aleya Felicia and Gamer, Matthias}, title = {Top-down influence on gaze patterns in the presence of social features}, series = {PLoS ONE}, volume = {12}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, number = {8}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0183799}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-170468}, pages = {e0183799}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Visual saliency maps reflecting locations that stand out from the background in terms of their low-level physical features have proven to be very useful for empirical research on attentional exploration and reliably predict gaze behavior. In the present study we tested these predictions for socially relevant stimuli occurring in naturalistic scenes using eye tracking. We hypothesized that social features (i.e. human faces or bodies) would be processed preferentially over non-social features (i.e. objects, animals) regardless of their low-level saliency. To challenge this notion, we included three tasks that deliberately addressed non-social attributes. In agreement with our hypothesis, social information, especially heads, was preferentially attended compared to highly salient image regions across all tasks. Social information was never required to solve a task but was regarded nevertheless. More so, after completing the task requirements, viewing behavior reverted back to that of free-viewing with heavy prioritization of social features. Additionally, initial eye movements reflecting potentially automatic shifts of attention, were predominantly directed towards heads irrespective of top-down task demands. On these grounds, we suggest that social stimuli may provide exclusive access to the priority map, enabling social attention to override reflexive and controlled attentional processes. Furthermore, our results challenge the generalizability of saliency-based attention models.}, language = {en} } @article{WallmannSperlichBippBuckschetal.2017, author = {Wallmann-Sperlich, Birgit and Bipp, Tanja and Bucksch, Jens and Froboese, Ingo}, title = {Who uses height-adjustable desks? - Sociodemographic, health-related, and psycho-social variables of regular users}, series = {International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity}, volume = {14}, journal = {International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity}, number = {26}, doi = {10.1186/s12966-017-0480-4}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-157888}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Background: Sit-to-stand height-adjustable desks (HAD) may promote workplace standing, as long as workers use them on a regular basis. The aim of this study was to investigate (i) how common HAD in German desk-based workers are, and how frequently HADs are used, (ii) to identify sociodemographic, health-related, and psycho-social variables of workday sitting including having a HAD, and (iii) to analyse sociodemographic, health-related, and psycho-social variables of users and non-users of HADs. Methods: A cross-sectional sample of 680 participants (51.9\% men; 41.0 ± 13.1 years) in a desk-based occupation was interviewed by telephone about their occupational sitting and standing proportions, having and usage of a HAD, and answered questions concerning psycho-social variables of occupational sitting. The proportion of workday sitting was calculated for participants having an HAD (n = 108) and not-having an HAD (n = 573), as well as for regular users of HAD (n = 54), and irregular/non-users of HAD (n = 54). Linear regressions were conducted to calculate associations between socio-demographic, health-related, psychosocial variables and having/not having an HAD, and the proportion of workday sitting. Logistic regressions were executed to examine the association of mentioned variables and participants' usage of HADs. Results: Sixteen percent report that they have an HAD, and 50\% of these report regular use of HAD. Having an HAD is not a correlate of the proportion of workday sitting. Further analysis restricted to participants having available a HAD highlights that only the 'perceived advantages of sitting less' was significantly associated with HAD use in the fully adjusted model (OR 1.75 [1.09; 2.81], p < 0.05). Conclusions: The present findings indicate that accompanying behavioral action while providing an HAD is promising to increase the regular usage of HAD. Hence, future research needs to address the specificity of behavioral actions in order to enhance regular HAD use, and needs to give more fundamental insights into these associations.}, language = {en} } @article{ShibanDiemerMuelleretal.2017, author = {Shiban, Youssef and Diemer, Julia and M{\"u}ller, Jana and Br{\"u}tting-Schick, Johanna and Pauli, Paul and M{\"u}hlberger, Andreas}, title = {Diaphragmatic breathing during virtual reality exposure therapy for aviophobia: functional coping strategy or avoidance behavior? A pilot study}, series = {BMC Psychiatry}, volume = {17}, journal = {BMC Psychiatry}, doi = {10.1186/s12888-016-1181-2}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-181007}, pages = {10}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Background: Although there is solid evidence for the efficacy of in vivo and virtual reality (VR) exposure therapy for a specific phobia, there is a significant debate over whether techniques promoting distraction or relaxation have impairing or enhancing effects on treatment outcome. In the present pilot study, we investigated the effect of diaphragmatic breathing (DB) as a relaxation technique during VR exposure treatment. Method: Twenty-nine patients with aviophobia were randomly assigned to VR exposure treatment either with or without diaphragmatic breathing (six cycles per minute). Subjective fear ratings, heart rate and skin conductance were assessed as indicators of fear during both the exposure and the test session one week later. Results: The group that experienced VR exposure combined with diaphragmatic breathing showed a higher tendency to effectively overcome the fear of flying. Psychophysiological measures of fear decreased and self-efficacy increased in both groups with no significant difference between the groups. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that diaphragmatic breathing during VR exposure does not interfere with the treatment outcome and may even enhance treatment effects of VR exposure therapy for aviophobic patients.}, language = {en} } @article{FoersterPfisterReussetal.2017, author = {Foerster, Anna and Pfister, Roland and Reuss, Heiko and Kunde, Wilfried}, title = {Commentary: Feeling the Conflict: The Crucial Role of Conflict Experience in Adaptation}, series = {Frontiers in Psychology}, volume = {8}, journal = {Frontiers in Psychology}, number = {1405}, issn = {1664-1078}, doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01405}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-190032}, year = {2017}, abstract = {A commentary on: Feeling the Conflict: The Crucial Role of Conflict Experience in Adaptationby Desender, K., Van Opstal, F., and Van den Bussche, E. (2014). Psychol. Sci. 25, 675-683. doi:10.1177/0956797613511468 Conflict adaptation in masked priming has recently been proposed to rely not on successful conflictresolution but rather on conflict experience (Desender et al., 2014). We re-assessed this proposal ina direct replication and also tested a potential confound due toconflict strength. The data supported this alternative view, but also failed to replicate basic conflict adaptation effects of the original studydespite considerable power.}, language = {en} } @article{PfisterSchwarzWirthetal.2017, author = {Pfister, Roland and Schwarz, Katharina A. and Wirth, Robert and Lindner, Isabel}, title = {My Command, My Act: Observation Inflation in Face-To-Face Interactions}, series = {Advances in Cognitive Psychology}, volume = {13}, journal = {Advances in Cognitive Psychology}, number = {2}, doi = {10.5709/acp-0216-8}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-170739}, pages = {166-176}, year = {2017}, abstract = {When observing another agent performing simple actions, these actions are systematically remembered as one's own after a brief period of time. Such observation inflation has been documented as a robust phenomenon in studies in which participants passively observed videotaped actions. Whether observation inflation also holds for direct, face-to-face interactions is an open question that we addressed in two experiments. In Experiment 1, participants commanded the experimenter to carry out certain actions, and they indeed reported false memories of self-performance in a later memory test. The effect size of this inflation effect was similar to passive observation as confirmed by Experiment 2. These findings suggest that observation inflation might affect action memory in a broad range of real-world interactions.}, language = {en} } @article{SchindlerRichterEysser2017, author = {Schindler, Julia and Richter, Tobias and Eyßer, Carolin}, title = {Mood moderates the effect of self-generation during learning}, series = {Frontline Learning Research}, volume = {5}, journal = {Frontline Learning Research}, number = {4}, doi = {10.14786/flr.v5i4.296}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-159282}, pages = {76-88}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Generating information, compared to reading, improves learning and enhances long-term retention of the learned content. This so-called generation effect has been demonstrated repeatedly for recall and recognition of single words. However, before adopting generating as a learning strategy in educational contexts, conditions moderating the effect need to be identified. This study investigated the impact of positive and negative mood states on the generation effect with short expository texts. According to the dual-force framework (Fiedler, Nickel, Asbeck, \& Pagel, 2003), positive mood should facilitate generation by enhancing creative knowledge-based top-down processing (assimilation). Negative mood, however, should facilitate learning in the read-condition by enhancing critical stimulus-driven bottom-up processing (accommodation). In contrast to our expectations, we found no general generation effect but an overall learning advantage of read compared to generated texts. However, a significant interaction of learning condition and mood indicates that learners in a better mood recall generated texts better than learners in a more negative mood, whereas no mood effect was found when the texts were read. The results of the present study partially support the predictions of the dual-force framework and are discussed in the context of recent theoretical approaches to the generation effect.}, language = {en} } @article{GenheimerAndreattaAsanetal.2017, author = {Genheimer, Hannah and Andreatta, Marta and Asan, Esther and Pauli, Paul}, title = {Reinstatement of contextual conditioned anxiety in virtual reality and the effects of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation in humans}, series = {Scientific Reports}, volume = {7}, journal = {Scientific Reports}, number = {17886}, doi = {10.1038/s41598-017-18183-3}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-169892}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Since exposure therapy for anxiety disorders incorporates extinction of contextual anxiety, relapses may be due to reinstatement processes. Animal research demonstrated more stable extinction memory and less anxiety relapse due to vagus nerve stimulation (VNS). We report a valid human three-day context conditioning, extinction and return of anxiety protocol, which we used to examine effects of transcutaneous VNS (tVNS). Seventy-five healthy participants received electric stimuli (unconditioned stimuli, US) during acquisition (Day1) when guided through one virtual office (anxiety context, CTX+) but never in another (safety context, CTX-). During extinction (Day2), participants received tVNS, sham, or no stimulation and revisited both contexts without US delivery. On Day3, participants received three USs for reinstatement followed by a test phase. Successful acquisition, i.e. startle potentiation, lower valence, higher arousal, anxiety and contingency ratings in CTX+ versus CTX-, the disappearance of these effects during extinction, and successful reinstatement indicate validity of this paradigm. Interestingly, we found generalized reinstatement in startle responses and differential reinstatement in valence ratings. Altogether, our protocol serves as valid conditioning paradigm. Reinstatement effects indicate different anxiety networks underlying physiological versus verbal responses. However, tVNS did neither affect extinction nor reinstatement, which asks for validation and improvement of the stimulation protocol.}, language = {en} } @article{SchubertKoernerLindauetal.2017, author = {Schubert, Lisa and K{\"o}rner, Anita and Lindau, Berit and Strack, Fritz and Topolinski, Sascha}, title = {Open-Minded Midwifes, Literate Butchers, and Greedy Hooligans - The Independent Contributions of Stereotype Valence and Consistency on Evaluative Judgments}, series = {Frontiers in Psychology}, volume = {8}, journal = {Frontiers in Psychology}, number = {1723}, doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01723}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-170222}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Do people evaluate an open-minded midwife less positively than a caring midwife? Both open-minded and caring are generally seen as positive attributes. However, consistency varies—the attribute caring is consistent with the midwife stereotype while open-minded is not. In general, both stimulus valence and consistency can influence evaluations. Six experiments investigated the respective influence of valence and consistency on evaluative judgments in the domain of stereotyping. In an impression formation paradigm, valence and consistency of stereotypic information about target persons were manipulated orthogonally and spontaneous evaluations of these target persons were measured. Valence reliably influenced evaluations. However, for strongly valenced stereotypes, no effect of consistency was observed. Parameters possibly preventing the occurrence of consistency effects were ruled out, specifically, valence of inconsistent attributes, processing priority of category information, and impression formation instructions. However, consistency had subtle effects on evaluative judgments if the information about a target person was not strongly valenced and experimental conditions were optimal. Concluding, in principle, both stereotype valence and consistency can play a role in evaluative judgments of stereotypic target persons. However, the more subtle influence of consistency does not seem to substantially influence evaluations of stereotyped target persons. Implications for fluency research and stereotype disconfirmation are discussed.}, language = {en} } @article{MuenchowMengelkampBannert2017, author = {M{\"u}nchow, Hannes and Mengelkamp, Christoph and Bannert, Maria}, title = {The better you feel the better you learn: do warm colours and rounded shapes enhance learning outcome in multimedia learning?}, series = {Education Research International}, volume = {2017}, journal = {Education Research International}, doi = {10.1155/2017/2148139}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-158566}, pages = {2148139}, year = {2017}, abstract = {The aim of the present study was to examine whether fostering positive activating affect during multimedia learning enhances learning outcome. University students were randomly assigned to either a multimedia learning environment designed to induce positive activating affect through the use of "warm" colours and rounded shapes () or an affectively neutral environment that used achromatic colours and sharp edges (). Participants learned about the topic of functional neuroanatomy for 20 minutes and had to answer several questions for comprehension and transfer afterwards. Affective states as well as achievement goal orientations were investigated before and after the learning phase using questionnaires. The results show that participants in the affectively positive environment were superior in comprehension as well as transfer when initial affect was strong. Preexperimental positive affect was therefore a predictor of comprehension and a moderator for transfer. Goal orientations did not influence these effects. The findings support the idea that positive affect, induced through the design of the particular multimedia learning environment, can facilitate performance if initial affective states are taken into account.}, language = {en} }