@inproceedings{OPUS4-31528, title = {Abstracts of the Wuertual Reality XR Meeting 2023}, editor = {Neumann, Isabel and Gado, Sabrina and K{\"a}thner, Ivo and Hildebrandt, Lea and Andreatta, Marta}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-31528}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-315285}, pages = {76}, year = {2023}, abstract = {The Wuertual Reality XR Meeting 2023 was initiated to bring together researchers from many fields who use VR/AR/XR. There was a focus on applied XR and social VR. In this conference band, you can find the abstracts of the two keynotes, the 34 posters and poster pitches, the 29 talks and the four workshops.}, subject = {Virtuelle Realit{\"a}t}, language = {en} } @article{RuboGamer2019, author = {Rubo, Marius and Gamer, Matthias}, title = {Visuo-tactile congruency influences the body schema during full body ownership illusion}, series = {Consciousness and Cognition}, volume = {73}, journal = {Consciousness and Cognition}, doi = {10.1016/j.concog.2019.05.006}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-227095}, pages = {UNSP 102758, 1-14}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Previous research showed that full body ownership illusions in virtual reality (VR) can be robustly induced by providing congruent visual stimulation, and that congruent tactile experiences provide a dispensable extension to an already established phenomenon. Here we show that visuo-tactile congruency indeed does not add to already high measures for body ownership on explicit measures, but does modulate movement behavior when walking in the laboratory. Specifically, participants who took ownership over a more corpulent virtual body with intact visuo-tactile congruency increased safety distances towards the laboratory's walls compared to participants who experienced the same illusion with deteriorated visuo-tactile congruency. This effect is in line with the body schema more readily adapting to a more corpulent body after receiving congruent tactile information. We conclude that the action-oriented, unconscious body schema relies more heavily on tactile information compared to more explicit aspects of body ownership.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Rudloff2023, author = {Rudloff, Jan Philipp}, title = {Post-Truth Epistemic Beliefs Rooted in the Dark Factor of Personality Predict Irrational Cognition and Behavior}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-34478}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-344782}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Conspiracy theories and fake news are receiving wide media coverage and their proliferation has motivated academic research on the driving factors irrational cognition and behavior. This dissertation focuses on individuals' beliefs about knowledge and knowing, which are commonly referred to as epistemic beliefs. The term post-truth epistemic beliefs is proposed and defined as a strong trust in one's intuition, a low need to align opinions with evidence, and the strong conviction that truth is a matter of power. Across six online studies, a mediation model is proposed and tested. It includes the core of all dark traits, the Dark Factor of Personality (D), as an antecedent of post-truth epistemic beliefs, and irrational cognition and behavior as consequences. Manuscript \#1 comprises four studies showing that post-truth epistemic beliefs are rooted in D and predict increased endorsement of COVID-19 conspiracy theories as well as less engagement in health-protective behavior against COVID-19. Manuscript \#2 includes a US nationally representative study suggesting that post-truth epistemic beliefs and D predict a lower probability of having been vaccinated against COVID-19. Manuscript \#3 presents a repeated measures experiment indicating that the nexus of D and post-truth epistemic beliefs also predicts less discernment between fake and accurate news. These findings highlight a major insight and a serious challenge for rational communication: Some individuals deliberately disregard (scientific) evidence and rational decision-making. Against this background, the need to foster the epistemological development of students and educators is emphasized.}, subject = {Verschw{\"o}rungstheorie}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Murali2023, author = {Murali, Supriya}, title = {Understanding the function of spontaneous blinks by investigating internally and externally directed processes}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-28747}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-287473}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Humans spontaneously blink several times a minute. These blinks are strongly modulated during various cognitive task. However, the precise function of blinking and the reason for their modulation has not been fully understood. In the present work, I investigated the function of spontaneous blinks through various perceptual and cognitive tasks. Previous research has revealed that blinks rates decrease during some tasks but increase during others. When trying to understand these seemingly contradictory results, I observed that blink reduction occurs when one engages with an external input. For instance, a decrease has been observed due to the onset of a stimulus, sensory input processing and attention towards sensory input. However, for activities that do not involve such an engagement, e.g. imagination, daydreaming or creativity, the blink rate has been shown to increase. To follow up on the proposed hypothesis, I distinguished tasks that involve the processing of an external stimulus and tasks that involve disengagement. In the first part of the project, I explored blinking during stimulus engagement. If the probability of blinking is low when engaging with the stimulus, then one should find a reduction in blinks specifically during the time period of processing but not during sensory input per se. To this end, in study 1, I tested the influence of task-relevant information duration on blink timing and additionally manipulated the overall sensory input using a visual and an auditory temporal simultaneity judgement task. The results showed that blinks were suppressed longer for longer periods of relevant information or in other words, blinks occurred at the end of relevant information processing for both the visual and the auditory modality. Since relevance is mediated through top-down processes, I argue that the reduction in blinks is a top-down driven suppression. In studies 2 and 3, I again investigated stimulus processing, but in this case, processing was triggered internally and not based on specific changes in the external input. To this end, I used bistable stimuli, in which the actual physical stimulus remains constant but their perception switches between different interpretations. Studies on the involvement of attention in such bistable perceptual changes indicate that the sensory input is reprocessed before the perceptual switch. The results revealed a reduction in eye blink rates before the report of perceptual switches. Importantly, I was able to decipher that the decrease was not caused by the perceptual switch or the behavioral response but likely started before the internal switch. Additionally, periods between a blink and a switch were longer than interblink intervals, indicating that blinks were followed by a period of stable percept. To conclude, the first part of the project revealed that there is a top-down driven blink suppression during the processing of an external stimulus. In the second part of the project, I extended the idea of blinks marking the disengagement from external processing and tested if blinking is associated with better performance during internally directed processes. Specifically, I investigated divergent thinking, an aspect of creativity, and the link between performance and blink rates as well as the effect of motor restriction. While I could show that motor restriction was the main factor influencing divergent thinking, the relationship between eye blink rates and creative output also depended on restriction. Results showed that higher blink rates were associated with better performance during free movement, but only between subjects. In other words, subjects who had overall higher blink rates scored better in the task, but when they were allowed to sit or walk freely. Within a single subject, trial with higher blink rates were not associated with better performance. Therefore, possibly, people who are able to disengage easily, as indicated by an overall high blink rate, perform better in divergent thinking tasks. However, the link between blink rate and internal tasks is not clear at this point. Indeed, a more complex measurement of blink behavior might be necessary to understand the relationship. In the final part of the project, I aimed to further understand the function of blinks through their neural correlates. I extracted the blink-related neural activity in the primary visual cortex (V1) of existing recordings of three rhesus monkeys during different sensory processing states. I analyzed spike related multi-unit responses, frequency dependent power changes, local field potentials and laminar distribution of activity while the animal watched a movie compared to when it was shown a blank screen. The results showed a difference in blink-related neural activity dependent on the processing state. This difference suggests a state dependent function of blinks. Taken altogether, the work presented in this thesis suggests that eye blinks have an important function during cognitive and perceptual processes. Blinks seem to facilitate a disengagement from the external world and are therefore suppressed during intended processing of external stimuli.}, subject = {Lidschlag}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Muth2023, author = {Muth, Felicitas Vanessa}, title = {Step by step: Sense of agency for complex action-event sequences}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-30756}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-307569}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2023}, abstract = {From simply ringing a bell to preparing a five-course menu, human behavior commonly causes changes in the environment. Such episodes where an agent acts, thereby causing changes in their environment constitute the sense of agency. In this thesis four series of experi-ments elucidate how the sense of agency is represented in complex action-event sequences, thereby bridging a gap between basic cognitive research and real-life practice. It builds upon extensive research on the sense of agency in unequivocal sequences consisting of single ac-tions and distinct, predominantly auditory, outcomes. Employing implicit as well as explicit measures, the scope is opened up to multi-step sequences. The experiments show that it is worthwhile devoting more research to complex action-event sequences. With a newly introduced auditory measure (Chapter II), common phenomena such as temporal binding and a decrease in agency ratings following distorted feedback were replicated in multi-step sequences. However, diverging results between traditional implicit and explicit measures call for further inspection. Multisensory integration appears to gain more weight when multiple actions have to be performed to attain a goal leading to more accurate representations of the own actions (Chapter III). Additionally, freedom of choice (Chapter III) as well as early spatial ambiguity altered the perceived timing of outcomes, while late spatial ambi-guity (Chapter IV) and the outcome's self-relevance did not (Chapter V). The data suggests that the cognitive system is capable of representing multi-step action-event sequences implicitly and explicitly. Actions and sensory events show a temporal attraction stemming from a bias in the perception of outcomes. Explicit knowledge about causing an event-sequence facilitates neither feelings of control nor taking authorship. The results corroborate current theorizing on the un-derpinnings of temporal binding and the divergence between traditional implicit and explicit measures of the sense of agency. Promising avenues for further research include structured analyses of how much inferred causality contributes to implicit and explicit measures of agency as well as finding alternative measures to capture conceptual as well as non-conceptual facets of the agency experience with one method.}, subject = {Psychologie}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Gralke2023, author = {Gralke, Verena Maria}, title = {The Impact of Media Literacy in Adolescence and Young Adulthood. - Correlative and Experimental Investigations on the Influence of Media Literacy on Cognitive and Political Variables, and on Knowledge Acquisition from Media -}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-34601}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-346018}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2023}, abstract = {This thesis consists of three studies investigating the influence media literacy has on political variables, cognitive variables, and learning. Adolescents from 13 years of age and young adults are included in the studies. This thesis is divided into three chapters. Study I and II are one comprehensive study, but will be presented separately for better readability. Chapter I provides the reader with background knowledge for the original studies presented in chapter II includes information about media use, different conceptualizations of media literacy and its development over the lifetime, as well as media literacy's impact on cognitive and political variables. Additionally, current literature on the comparison of the learning outcomes of different kinds of texts (written, auditory, and audiovisual) is presented, with a differentiation between text-based information and inferences. In chapter II, the original studies are placed in the current state of research and presented in detail. In chapter III, a critical discussion of the studies is conducted, and a general model of the influence media literacy has on the investigated cognitive and political factors is presented, followed by a conclusion of the research. The theoretical foundation of this thesis is three models of media literacy proposed by Groeben (2002, 2004), Hobbs (1997), and Potter (1998, 2016). These three models are similar in that they define media literacy as a multifactorial construct with skills that develop further in the course of life. Their ideas are integrated and developed further, leading to our own model of media literacy. It encompasses five scales: media sign literacy, distinction between reality and fiction, knowledge of media law, knowledge of media effects, and production skills. Thereupon, the assessment tool W{\"u}rzburg Media Literacy Test (WMK; W{\"u}rzburger Medienkompetenztest) is designed. There is evidence that media use and media literacy influence socio-political factors. Young adults name the internet as the main source of information on political topics (see Pasek et al., 2006), and knowledge demonstrably fosters political participation (Delli Carpini \& Keeter, 1996). However, the kind of participation activity regarded is important (Quintelier \& Vissers, 2008), as sometimes real-life participation is supplemented by online activities (Quan-Haase \& Wellman, 2002). Media literacy is the key to evaluating the quality of information from media. Whether or not a direct link between media literacy and political interest exists has, as far as I know, not yet been investigated. Several studies have shown that precursors and subcomponents of media literacy have the capacity to influence cognitive variables. For instance, children with higher media sign literacy possess better reading proficiency (Nieding et al., 2017) and are better at collecting information and drawing inferences from hypermedia and films (Diergarten et al., 2017) as compared to children with low literacy. These precursors and subcomponents are more efficient in processing medial sign systems, reducing cognitive load, and consequently, liberating cognitive capacity for other mental tasks (Sweller, 1988). Paino and Renzulli (2012) showed that highly computer-proficient adolescents exhibit better mathematics and reading abilities. Different types of media influence the learning process differently, and the learning process can be enhanced by combining these different types of media, if the material is prepared according to the research findings and Mayer's (2002) cognitive theory of multimedia learning. Similarly, a reduction in cognitive load takes place and more resources can be invested in the learning process itself (Mayer \& Moreno, 2003; Sweller, 1988). It is not easy to answer the question of whether one medium is superior for learning to another. Generally, adults learn best from written texts (e.g., Byrne \& Curtis, 2000), and audiovisual and auditory texts are comparable (e.g., Hayes et al., 1986); however, there is little research regarding the comparison of the latter two. Study I examined whether media literacy has a positive impact on interest in politics and the political self-concept. A sample of 101 13-to 20-year-olds was drawn. The control variables were intelligence, socio-economic status (SES), openness to experiences, perspective-taking, age, and sex. Additionally, an evaluation of the WMK was conducted, which indicated good construct validity and excellent overall reliability. Media literacy was positively associated with interest in politics, political self-concept, and perspective-taking but not with openness. In hierarchical regressions and path analysis, a direct influence of media literacy and openness on interest in politics could be found. Political self-concept was solely influenced by interest in politics. Although media literacy had no direct influence on political self-concept, it influenced its precursor interest in politics and was thus expected to have distal influence. The results of the first study confirm previous findings (e.g., Vecchione \& Caprara, 2009), where political self-concept is regarded as a precursor of political participation. In conclusion, the findings of study I suggested that by stimulating political interest, media literacy could, mediated through political self-concept, foster political participation. Study II (which was conducted on the same sample as study I) was concerned with the question of whether highly media-literate adolescent and young adult participants exhibit better academic skills (mathematics; reading) and academic achievement (grades) compared to less media-literate participants. Additionally, to obtain information about potential development during adolescence, a group of 50 13-year-olds was compared with a group of 51 19-year-olds in terms of their media literacy. The control variables were intelligence, SES, sex, and age. The results showed that a significant development of media literacy took place during adolescence (∆M = .17), agreeing with Potter's (1998, 2013) development theory of media literacy. Media literacy was significantly correlated with reading skills and school grades. Regarding adults, media literacy was also significantly correlated with mathematical skills; the association was greater than that with reading skills. However, no connection with mathematical skills was found for adolescents. To control for the influence of age and intelligence, which were both associated with media literacy, hierarchical regressions and path analyses were conducted. The results revealed that media literacy had a greater impact on grades and academic abilities than intelligence. These results are in line with those obtained by Paino and Renzulli (2012). Study III investigated whether media literacy helps young adults to better learn from three kinds of media, a written, an auditory, and an audio-visual text, and which medium achieves the best learning results. Three groups of 91 young adults were compared (written, auditory, and audio-visual text) in terms of their learning outcomes. These outcomes were conceptualized as directly stated information in the text (assessed by text-based questions) and inferential learning (inference questions). A computer-based short version of the WMK was applied to assess media literacy, which should be optimized in the future. The control variables were intelligence, verbal ability, media usage, prior knowledge, and SES. In hierarchical regression, media literacy turned out to be a significant predictor of text inferences, even when other relevant variables, such as intelligence, were controlled for. Inferences foster the building of the situation model, which is believed by many authors to be true comprehension of a text (Zwaan \& Radvansky, 1998). The outcomes of study III support Ohler's (1994) assumption that media literacy fosters the creation of a more elaborated situational model. Text-based questions were only influenced by prior knowledge. As assumed by Potter (1998, 2016), the media literacy of young adults in the Western world suffices to extract relevant facts from educational learning material. Both subjects were best in the written text condition for text-based and inference question results. Audiovisual and auditory texts showed no significant differences. The written text condition did not excel in the auditory text condition for inferences. The results accord with those obtained by, for instance, Byrne and Curtis (2000). Taken together, these studies show that media literacy can influence several cognitive and political variables. It stimulates political interest, reading comprehension, school grades, and mathematical abilities in young adults, as well as drawing inferences from different kinds of texts. Additionally, media literacy develops further during adolescence.}, subject = {Media Literacy}, language = {en} } @article{FoersterMoellerFringsetal.2023, author = {Foerster, Anna and Moeller, Birte and Frings, Christian and Pfister, Roland}, title = {What is left after an error? Towards a comprehensive account of goal-based binding and retrieval}, series = {Attention, Perception, \& Psychophysics}, volume = {85}, journal = {Attention, Perception, \& Psychophysics}, number = {1}, doi = {10.3758/s13414-022-02609-w}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-324851}, pages = {120-139}, year = {2023}, abstract = {The cognitive system readily detects and corrects erroneous actions by establishing episodic bindings between representations of the acted upon stimuli and the intended correct response. If these stimuli are encountered again, they trigger the retrieval of the correct response. Thus, binding and retrieval efficiently pave the way for future success. The current study set out to define the role of the erroneous response itself and explicit feedback for the error during these processes of goal-based binding and retrieval. Two experiments showed robust and similar binding and retrieval effects with and without feedback and pointed towards sustained activation of the unbound, erroneous response. The third experiment confirmed that the erroneous response is more readily available than a neutral alternative. Together, the results demonstrate that episodic binding biases future actions toward success, guided primarily through internal feedback processes, while the erroneous response still leaves detectable traces in human action control.}, language = {en} } @article{RinnLudwigFassleretal.2023, author = {Rinn, Robin and Ludwig, Jonas and Fassler, Pauline and Deutsch, Roland}, title = {Cues of wealth and the subjective perception of rich people}, series = {Current Psychology}, volume = {42}, journal = {Current Psychology}, number = {31}, issn = {1046-1310}, doi = {10.1007/s12144-022-03763-y}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-324922}, pages = {27442-27457}, year = {2023}, abstract = {These pre-registered studies shed light on the cues that individuals use to identify rich people. In two studies (N = 598), we first developed a factor-analytical model that describes the content and the mental structure of 24 wealth cues. A third within-subject study (N = 89) then assessed the perception of rich subgroups based on this model of wealth cues. Participants evaluated the extent to which the wealth cues applied to two distinct subgroups of rich people. The results show: German and US-American participants think that one can identify rich people based on the same set of cues which can be grouped along the following dimensions: luxury consumption, expensive hobbies, spontaneous spending, greedy behavior, charismatic behavior, self-presentation, and specific possessions. However, Germans and US-Americans relied on these cues to different degrees to diagnose wealth in others. Moreover, we found evidence for subgroup-specific wealth cue profiles insofar as target individuals who acquired their wealth via internal (e.g., hard work) compared to external means (e.g., lottery winners) were evaluated differently on these wealth cues, presumably because of their perceived differences in valence and competence. Together, this research provides new insights in the cognitive representation of the latent construct of wealth. Practical implications for research on the perception of affluence, and implications for political decision makers, are discussed in the last section.}, language = {en} } @article{SchwarzWeller2023, author = {Schwarz, Katharina A. and Weller, Lisa}, title = {Distracted to a fault: attention, actions, and time perception}, series = {Attention, Perception, \& Psychophysics}, volume = {85}, journal = {Attention, Perception, \& Psychophysics}, number = {2}, doi = {10.3758/s13414-022-02632-x}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-324936}, pages = {301-314}, year = {2023}, abstract = {In the last years, it has become general consensus that actions change our time perception. Performing an action to elicit a specific event seems to lead to a systematic underestimation of the interval between action and effect, a phenomenon termed temporal (or previously intentional) binding. Temporal binding has been closely associated with sense of agency, our perceived control over our actions and our environment, and because of its robust behavioral effects has indeed been widely utilized as an implicit correlate of sense of agency. The most robust and clear temporal binding effects are typically found via Libet clock paradigms. In the present study, we investigate a crucial methodological confound in these paradigms that provides an alternative explanation for temporal binding effects: a redirection of attentional resources in two-event sequences (as in classical operant conditions) versus singular events (as in classical baseline conditions). Our results indicate that binding effects in Libet clock paradigms may be based to a large degree on such attentional processes, irrespective of intention or action-effect sequences. Thus, these findings challenge many of the previously drawn conclusions and interpretations with regard to actions and time perception.}, language = {en} } @article{ReisPfisterFoerster2023, author = {Reis, Moritz and Pfister, Roland and Foerster, Anna}, title = {Cognitive load promotes honesty}, series = {Psychological Research}, volume = {87}, journal = {Psychological Research}, number = {3}, doi = {10.1007/s00426-022-01686-8}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-324913}, pages = {826-844}, year = {2023}, abstract = {In three experiments, we examined the cognitive underpinnings of self-serving dishonesty by manipulating cognitive load under different incentive structures. Participants could increase a financial bonus by misreporting outcomes of private die rolls without any risk of detection. At the same time, they had to remember letter strings of varying length. If honesty is the automatic response tendency and dishonesty is cognitively demanding, lying behavior should be less evident under high cognitive load. This hypothesis was supported by the outcome of two out of three experiments. We further manipulated whether all trials or only one random trial determined payoff to modulate reward adaptation over time (Experiment 2) and whether payoff was framed as a financial gain or loss (Experiment 3). The payoff scheme of one random or all trials did not affect lying behavior and, discordant to earlier research, facing losses instead of gains did not increase lying behavior. Finally, cognitive load and incentive frame interacted significantly, but contrary to our assumption gains increased lying under low cognitive load. While the impact of cognitive load on dishonesty appears to be comparably robust, motivational influences seem to be more elusive than commonly assumed in current theorizing.}, language = {en} } @article{EckDignathKalckertetal.2022, author = {Eck, Julia and Dignath, David and Kalckert, Andreas and Pfister, Roland}, title = {Instant disembodiment of virtual body parts}, series = {Attention, Perception, \& Psychophysics}, volume = {84}, journal = {Attention, Perception, \& Psychophysics}, number = {8}, doi = {10.3758/s13414-022-02544-w}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-324844}, pages = {2725-2740}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Evidence from multisensory body illusions suggests that body representations may be malleable, for instance, by embodying external objects. However, adjusting body representations to current task demands also implies that external objects become disembodied from the body representation if they are no longer required. In the current web-based study, we induced the embodiment of a two-dimensional (2D) virtual hand that could be controlled by active movements of a computer mouse or on a touchpad. Following initial embodiment, we probed for disembodiment by comparing two conditions: Participants either continued moving the virtual hand or they stopped moving and kept the hand still. Based on theoretical accounts that conceptualize body representations as a set of multisensory bindings, we expected gradual disembodiment of the virtual hand if the body representations are no longer updated through correlated visuomotor signals. In contrast to our prediction, the virtual hand was instantly disembodied as soon as participants stopped moving it. This result was replicated in two follow-up experiments. The observed instantaneous disembodiment might suggest that humans are sensitive to the rapid changes that characterize action and body in virtual environments, and hence adjust corresponding body representations particularly swiftly.}, language = {en} } @article{KuertenRaettigGutzeitetal.2023, author = {K{\"u}rten, Jens and Raettig, Tim and Gutzeit, Julian and Huestegge, Lynn}, title = {Dual-action benefits: global (action-inherent) and local (transient) sources of action prepotency underlying inhibition failures in multiple action control}, series = {Psychological Research}, volume = {87}, journal = {Psychological Research}, number = {2}, doi = {10.1007/s00426-022-01672-0}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-324893}, pages = {410-424}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Previous research has shown that the simultaneous execution of two actions (instead of only one) is not necessarily more difficult but can actually be easier (less error-prone), in particular when executing one action requires the simultaneous inhibition of another action. Corresponding inhibitory demands are particularly challenging when the to-be-inhibited action is highly prepotent (i.e., characterized by a strong urge to be executed). Here, we study a range of important potential sources of such prepotency. Building on a previously established paradigm to elicit dual-action benefits, participants responded to stimuli with single actions (either manual button press or saccade) or dual actions (button press and saccade). Crucially, we compared blocks in which these response demands were randomly intermixed (mixed blocks) with pure blocks involving only one type of response demand. The results highlight the impact of global (action-inherent) sources of action prepotency, as reflected in more pronounced inhibitory failures in saccade vs. manual control, but also more local (transient) sources of influence, as reflected in a greater probability of inhibition failures following trials that required the to-be-inhibited type of action. In addition, sequential analyses revealed that inhibitory control (including its failure) is exerted at the level of response modality representations, not at the level of fully specified response representations. In sum, the study highlights important preconditions and mechanisms underlying the observation of dual-action benefits.}, language = {en} } @article{HoffmannKochHuestegge2022, author = {Hoffmann, Mareike A. and Koch, Iring and Huestegge, Lynn}, title = {Are some effector systems harder to switch to? In search of cost asymmetries when switching between manual, vocal, and oculomotor tasks}, series = {Memory \& Cognition}, volume = {50}, journal = {Memory \& Cognition}, number = {7}, doi = {10.3758/s13421-022-01287-1}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-324887}, pages = {1563-1577}, year = {2022}, abstract = {In task-switching studies, performance is typically worse in task-switch trials than in task-repetition trials. These switch costs are often asymmetrical, a phenomenon that has been explained by referring to a dominance of one task over the other. Previous studies also indicated that response modalities associated with two tasks may be considered as integral components for defining a task set. However, a systematic assessment of the role of response modalities in task switching is still lacking: Are some response modalities harder to switch to than others? The present study systematically examined switch costs when combining tasks that differ only with respect to their associated effector systems. In Experiment 1, 16 participants switched (in unpredictable sequence) between oculomotor and vocal tasks. In Experiment 2, 72 participants switched (in pairwise combinations) between oculomotor, vocal, and manual tasks. We observed systematic performance costs when switching between response modalities under otherwise constant task features and could thereby replicate previous observations of response modality switch costs. However, we did not observe any substantial switch-cost asymmetries. As previous studies using temporally overlapping dual-task paradigms found substantial prioritization effects (in terms of asymmetric costs) especially for oculomotor tasks, the present results suggest different underlying processes in sequential task switching than in simultaneous multitasking. While more research is needed to further substantiate a lack of response modality switch-cost asymmetries in a broader range of task switching situations, we suggest that task-set representations related to specific response modalities may exhibit rapid decay.}, language = {en} } @article{FoersterPfisterWirthetal.2023, author = {Foerster, Anna and Pfister, Roland and Wirth, Robert and Kunde, Wilfried}, title = {Post-execution monitoring in dishonesty}, series = {Psychological Research}, volume = {87}, journal = {Psychological Research}, number = {3}, doi = {10.1007/s00426-022-01691-x}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-324862}, pages = {845-861}, year = {2023}, abstract = {When telling a lie, humans might engage in stronger monitoring of their behavior than when telling the truth. Initial evidence has indeed pointed towards a stronger recruitment of capacity-limited monitoring processes in dishonest than honest responding, conceivably resulting from the necessity to overcome automatic tendencies to respond honestly. Previous results suggested monitoring to be confined to response execution, however, whereas the current study goes beyond these findings by specifically probing for post-execution monitoring. Participants responded (dis)honestly to simple yes/no questions in a first task and switched to an unrelated second task after a response-stimulus interval of 0 ms or 1000 ms. Dishonest responses did not only prolong response times in Task 1, but also in Task 2 with a short response-stimulus interval. These findings support the assumption that increased monitoring for dishonest responses extends beyond mere response execution, a mechanism that is possibly tuned to assess the successful completion of a dishonest act.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{vonEitzen2024, author = {von Eitzen, Ingo Martin}, title = {Faktoren zur Akzeptanz von Virtual Reality Anwendungen}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-34632}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-346326}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2024}, abstract = {Immersive Technologien, wie Augmented und Virtual Reality, k{\"o}nnen bestehende Gesch{\"a}ftsmodelle entweder verbessern oder gef{\"a}hrden. Jedoch kann sich das f{\"o}rderliche Potential nur entfalten, wenn die Anwender:innen die Technologien akzeptieren und letztendlich auch nutzen. In dieser Arbeit wird beschrieben, was Akzeptanz ist und welche Einflussgr{\"o}ßen (Faktoren) f{\"u}r die Akzeptanz von Virtual Reality besonders relevant sind. Anschließend ist, basierend auf der diskutierten Fachliteratur, ein neuartiges, holistisches Akzeptanzmodell f{\"u}r Virtual Reality entworfen und mit drei Studien {\"u}berpr{\"u}ft worden. In der ersten Studie wurden 129 Personen gebeten entweder in Augmented oder Virtual Reality ein Schulungsszenario oder ein Mini-Spiel auszuprobieren (2x2-Design). In beiden Anwendungen sollten Flaschen von einem virtuellen Fließband entfernt werden. Im Fokus der Untersuchung stand die Immersion, die N{\"u}tzlichkeit, das empfundene Vergn{\"u}gen (Hedonismus) und die Zufriedenheit. Die Ergebnisse ergaben zum einen, dass sich die Immersion zwischen Augmented und Virtual Reality unterscheidet, und zum anderen, dass das empfundene Vergn{\"u}gen und die N{\"u}tzlichkeit signifikante Pr{\"a}diktoren f{\"u}r die Zufriedenheit darstellen. An der zweiten Studie nahmen 62 Personen teil. Sie wurden gebeten das Schulungsszenario erneut zu absolvieren, wobei dieses mit auditiven Inhalten und animierten Figuren angereicht wurde, sowie {\"u}ber eine etwas bessere Grafikqualit{\"a}t verf{\"u}gte. Die Daten wurden mit den Virtual Reality Szenarien aus der ersten Studie verglichen, um den Einfluss der Pr{\"a}senz auf den Hedonismus zu untersuchen. Obwohl kein relevanter Unterschied zwischen den Gruppen festgestellt wurde, konnte nachgewiesen werden, dass Pr{\"a}senz Hedonismus signifikant vorhersagt. An der dritten Studie beteiligten sich insgesamt 35 Personen. Untersuchungsgegenstand der Studie war die virtuelle Darstellung der eigenen Person in der virtuellen Realit{\"a}t (Verk{\"o}rperung) und dessen Einfluss auf den Hedonismus. Die Versuchspersonen wurden gebeten das Schulungsszenario erneut zu durch-laufen, wobei sie diesmal das Eingabeger{\"a}t (Controller) der Visieranzeige (head-mounted display) zur Steuerung benutzen. In der ersten Studie erfolgte die Bedienung {\"u}ber eine Gestensteuerung. Die Analyse dieser Manipulation offenbarte keinerlei Auswirkungen auf die Verk{\"o}rperung. Allerdings stellte die Verk{\"o}rperung einen signifikanten Pr{\"a}diktor f{\"u}r den Hedonismus dar. Im Anschluss an die Studien ist das Modell mit den Daten aus den Virtual Reality Gruppen der ersten Studie beurteilt worden, wobei es sich weitgehend best{\"a}tigt hat. Abschließend werden die Befunde in Bezug auf die Fachliteratur eingeordnet, m{\"o}gliche Ursachen f{\"u}r die Ergebnisse diskutiert und weitere Forschungsbedarfe aufgezeigt.}, subject = {Akzeptanz}, language = {de} } @article{Franz2022, author = {Franz, David J.}, title = {Moral responsibility for self-deluding beings}, series = {Philosophia}, volume = {50}, journal = {Philosophia}, number = {4}, issn = {0048-3893}, doi = {10.1007/s11406-022-00469-0}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-324871}, pages = {1791-1807}, year = {2022}, abstract = {In this article, I argue for four theses. First, libertarian and compatibilist accounts of moral responsibility agree that the capability of practical reason is the central feature of moral responsibility. Second, this viewpoint leads to a reasons-focused account of human behavior. Examples of human action discussed in debates about moral responsibility suggest that typical human actions are driven primarily by the agent's subjective reasons and are sufficiently transparent for the agent. Third, this conception of self-transparent action is a questionable idealization. As shown by psychological research on self-assessment, motivated reasoning, and terror management theory, humans oftentimes have only a limited understanding of their conduct. Self-deception is rather the rule than the exception. Fourth, taking the limited self-transparency of practical reason seriously leads to a socially contextualized conception of moral responsibility.}, language = {en} } @article{SuchotzkiGamer2018, author = {Suchotzki, Kristina and Gamer, Matthias}, title = {Alcohol facilitates detection of concealed identity information}, series = {Scientific Reports}, volume = {8}, journal = {Scientific Reports}, number = {7825}, doi = {10.1038/s41598-018-25811-z}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-176662}, year = {2018}, abstract = {The Concealed Information Test (CIT) is a well-validated means to detect whether someone possesses certain (e.g., crime-relevant) information. The current study investigated whether alcohol intoxication during CIT administration influences reaction time (RT) CIT-effects. Two opposing predictions can be made. First, by decreasing attention to critical information, alcohol intoxication could diminish CIT-effects. Second, by hampering the inhibition of truthful responses, alcohol intoxication could increase CIT-effects. A correlational field design was employed. Participants (n = 42) were recruited and tested at a bar, where alcohol consumption was voluntary and incidental. Participants completed a CIT, in which they were instructed to hide knowledge of their true identity. BAC was estimated via breath alcohol ratio. Results revealed that higher BAC levels were correlated with higher CIT-effects. Our results demonstrate that robust CIT effects can be obtained even when testing conditions differ from typical laboratory settings and strengthen the idea that response inhibition contributes to the RT-CIT effect.}, language = {en} } @article{SeitzLenhartRuebsam2020, author = {Seitz, Maximilian and Lenhart, Jan and R{\"u}bsam, Nina}, title = {The effects of gendered information in stories on preschool children's development of gender stereotypes}, series = {British Journal of Developmental Psychology}, volume = {38}, journal = {British Journal of Developmental Psychology}, number = {3}, doi = {10.1111/bjdp.12323}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-214622}, pages = {363 -- 390}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Social-cognitive theory posits that children learn gender stereotypes through gendered information. The present study examined whether children learn new gender stereotypes from stories when unknown words are linked to a gendered protagonist or context information. In Experiment 1, 40 3- to 6-year-old preschoolers were read stories with either a gendered protagonist embedded within a non-gendered context, or a non-gendered protagonist embedded within a gendered context. In Experiment 2, the same sample of children were read stories with the protagonist and the context displaying congruent or incongruent gender information. Each story featured an unknown activity linked with the stereotypical content. Both experiments indicate that the children rated the activity according to both the gender of the context and of the protagonist; however, the effect of the latter was stronger. In addition, children showed higher interest in the unknown activity if the protagonist's gender matched their own sex. Thus, gender information in stories influences how children perceive unknown words.}, language = {en} } @article{KaussnerKuraszkiewiczSchochetal.2020, author = {Kaussner, Y. and Kuraszkiewicz, A. M. and Schoch, S. and Markel, Petra and Hoffmann, S. and Baur-Streubel, R. and Kenntner-Mabiala, R. and Pauli, P.}, title = {Treating patients with driving phobia by virtual reality exposure therapy - a pilot study}, series = {PLoS ONE}, volume = {15}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, number = {1}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0226937}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-201051}, pages = {e0226937}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Objectives Virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) is a promising treatment for patients with fear of driving. The present pilot study is the first one focusing on behavioral effects of VRET on patients with fear of driving as measured by a post-treatment driving test in real traffic. Methods The therapy followed a standardized manual including psychotherapeutic and medical examination, two preparative psychotherapy sessions, five virtual reality exposure sessions, a final behavioral avoidance test (BAT) in real traffic, a closing session, and two follow-up phone assessments after six and twelve weeks. VRE was conducted in a driving simulator with a fully equipped mockup. The exposure scenarios were individually tailored to the patients' anxiety hierarchy. A total of 14 patients were treated. Parameters on the verbal, behavioral and physiological level were assessed. Results The treatment was helpful to overcome driving fear and avoidance. In the final BAT, all patients mastered driving tasks they had avoided before, 71\% showed an adequate driving behavior as assessed by the driving instructor, and 93\% could maintain their treatment success until the second follow-up phone call. Further analyses suggest that treatment reduces avoidance behavior as well as symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder as measured by standardized questionnaires (Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire: p < .10, PTSD Symptom Scale-Self Report: p < .05). Conclusions VRET in driving simulation is very promising to treat driving fear. Further research with randomized controlled trials is needed to verify efficacy. Moreover, simulators with lower configuration stages should be tested for a broad availability in psychotherapy.}, language = {en} } @article{Ingerslev2020, author = {Ingerslev, Line Ryberg}, title = {Inhibited Intentionality: On Possible Self-Understanding in Cases of Weak Agency}, series = {Frontiers in Psychology}, volume = {11}, journal = {Frontiers in Psychology}, issn = {1664-1078}, doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2020.558709}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-212950}, year = {2020}, abstract = {The paper addresses the question of how to approach consciousness in unreflective actions. Unreflective actions differ from reflective, conscious actions in that the intentional description under which the agent knows what she is doing is not available or present to the agent at the moment of acting. Yet, unreflective actions belong to the field in which an agent experiences herself as capable of acting. Some unreflective actions, however, narrow this field and can be characterized by intentionality being inhibited. By studying inhibited intentionality in unreflective actions, the aim of the paper is to show how weaker forms of action urge us to expand our overall understanding of action. If we expand the field of actions such that it encompasses also some of the involuntary aspects of action, we are able to understand how unreflective actions can remain actions and do not fall under the scope of automatic behavior. With the notion of weak agency, the paper thus addresses one aspect of unreflective action, namely, "inhibited intentionality" in which an agent feels a diminished sense of authorship in relation to her possibility for self-understanding. The notion of weak agency clarifies how agency itself remains intact but can involve a process of appropriation of one's actions as one's own. With a diachronic account of consciousness in unreflective action, the paper accounts for possible self-understanding in cases where none seems available at the moment of action.}, language = {en} }