@article{RichterHertelKubiketal.2022, author = {Richter, Tobias and Hertel, Silke and Kubik, Veit and Marksteiner, Tamara and Souvignier, Elmar and Sparfeldt, J{\"o}rn R.}, title = {In welchen Branchen und f{\"u}r welche beruflichen T{\"a}tigkeiten werden Psychologinnen und Psychologen gesucht und was sollten sie k{\"o}nnen? : Eine systematische Inhaltsanalyse von Stellenanzeigen}, series = {Psychologische Rundschau}, volume = {73}, journal = {Psychologische Rundschau}, number = {4}, issn = {0033-3042}, doi = {10.1026/0033-3042/a000557}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-251451}, pages = {229-242}, year = {2022}, abstract = {{\"U}ber die Struktur des Arbeitsmarkts f{\"u}r Psychologinnen und Psychologen, insbesondere {\"u}ber die quantitative Verteilung von Stellen auf verschiedene Besch{\"a}ftigungsbereiche, berufliche T{\"a}tigkeiten, geforderte Kompetenzen und Abschl{\"u}sse, liegen keine zuverl{\"a}ssigen und aktuellen Informationen vor. Wir berichten die Ergebnisse einer systematischen Inhaltsanalyse von 2025 Stellenanzeigen, die im Zeitraum von jeweils einem Monat in den Jahren 2018 und 2020 in g{\"a}ngigen deutschen Online-Stellenb{\"o}rsen ver{\"o}ffentlicht wurden. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass der Arbeitsmarkt f{\"u}r Psychologinnen und Psychologen {\"a}ußerst vielf{\"a}ltig ist und eine große Bandbreite beruflicher T{\"a}tigkeiten im Gesundheits-‍, Bildungs- und Sozialwesen, der Wirtschaft, der Wissenschaft sowie bei Polizei, Justiz und Verwaltung umfasst. Die Psychotherapie war mit 35 \% das gr{\"o}ßte Berufsfeld, w{\"a}hrend sich die Mehrzahl der Stellen auf berufliche T{\"a}tigkeiten verteilte, die sich in der Regel keinem einzelnen Fachgebiet der Psychologie zuordnen ließen. F{\"u}r 27 \% der ausgeschriebenen Stellen war eine Approbation erforderlich, und 28 \% der Stellen waren befristet. Die Ergebnisse liefern wichtige Informationen f{\"u}r die Konzeption und professionsorientierte Gestaltung von psychologischen Studieng{\"a}ngen.}, language = {de} } @phdthesis{Sudmann2023, author = {Sudmann, Jessica}, title = {Evaluation einer longitudinalen Erweiterung einer Lehrveranstaltung zur Nikotinentw{\"o}hnung im Medizinstudium}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-32163}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-321634}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Hintergrund: An der Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg wurde bereits im Wintersemester 2018/19 eine 90-min{\"u}tige Lehrveranstaltung zur Nikotinentw{\"o}hnung als Pr{\"a}senz- oder E-Learning-Seminar im 6. Semester implementiert. In 2020 wurden weitere Bausteine erg{\"a}nzt: eine Kurzinfo zur Raucherberatung im 9. Semester und die Beratung realer Patienten im 10. Semester im Blockpraktikum-Allgemeinmedizin (BPA). Fragestellung: Wie wirkt sich der Besuch des Seminars langfristig auf das Beratungs-Wissen aus? Ist eine Nikotinentw{\"o}hnungsberatung im Rahmen des BPA machbar? Erh{\"o}ht sich dadurch die subjektive Sicherheit der Studierenden? Methoden: Im Sommersemester 2020 wurden Studierende des 9. Semesters, die regul{\"a}r das Seminar zur Raucherberatung im Wintersemester 2018/19 besucht haben sollten, online bzgl. Wissen zur Nikotinentw{\"o}hnungsberatung befragt. Es folgten vertonte PowerPoint-Folien zur Raucherberatung (Kurzinfo). Im Wintersemester 2020/21 im BPA sollten die Studierenden ein Nikotinentw{\"o}hnungsgespr{\"a}ch mit einem Patienten in der Lehrpraxis durchf{\"u}hren und ihre Erfahrungen und subjektive Sicherheit mittels Online-Befragung retrospektiv evaluieren. Ergebnisse: In der Befragung des 9. Semesters (n=54, R{\"u}cklauf: 35\%) sch{\"a}tzten Teilnehmende der Ursprungskohorte (n=35 von urspr{\"u}nglich 130) im Vergleich zu Nicht-Teilnehmenden (n=19) ihr Wissen deutlich h{\"o}her ein (p=0,016). Dabei spielte die zuvor besuchte Lehrform keine Rolle (p=0,963). Im BPA f{\"u}hrten 50\% (n=57) der 114 Befragten (R{\"u}cklauf: 74\%) eine Nikotinberatung mit einem Patienten durch, dabei stieg die Sicherheit, ein solches Gespr{\"a}ch zu f{\"u}hren, signifikant (p<0,001). Beratende Studierende beurteilten den Zugewinn an Fertigkeiten durch das BPA h{\"o}her (p<0,001) und hielten es f{\"u}r wichtiger, Patienten zu ihrem Rauchverhalten zu beraten (p=0,048). Diskussion: Unabh{\"a}ngig von der Lehrform scheint sich ein Seminar zur Raucherberatung langfristig positiv auf das Wissen auszuwirken. F{\"u}r 50\% war eine Nikotinentw{\"o}hnungsberatung im BPA machbar. Als Hinderungsgr{\"u}nde wurden fehlende Gelegenheiten und ungeeignete Patienten angegeben. Die Beratung eines Patienten in einer realen Situation erh{\"o}ht die Beratungssicherheit.}, subject = {Raucherentw{\"o}hnung}, language = {de} } @article{LenhardMintenLenhard2023, author = {Lenhard, Alexandra and Minten, Marie-Pierre and Lenhard, Wolfgang}, title = {When biology takes over: TV formats like The Bachelor and The Bachelorette confirm evolutionary theories of partner selection}, series = {Frontiers in Psychology}, volume = {14}, journal = {Frontiers in Psychology}, issn = {1664-1078}, doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1219915}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-325717}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Introduction: In this study, we investigated the impact of age on mate selection preferences in males and females, and explored how the formation and duration of committed relationships depend on the sex of the person making the selection. Methods: To this end, we utilized data from the television dating shows The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. In these programs, either a single man ("bachelor") or a woman ("bachelorette") has the opportunity to select a potential long-term partner from a pool of candidates. Our analysis encompassed a total of n = 169 seasons from 23 different countries, beginning with the first airing in 2002. Results: We found that the likelihood of the final couple continuing their relationship beyond the broadcast was higher in The Bachelorette than in The Bachelor, although the duration of these relationships was not significantly influenced by the type of show. On average, women were younger, both when selecting their partner and when being chosen. However, men exhibited a greater preference for larger age differences than women. Furthermore, the age of the chosen male partners significantly increased with the age of the "bachelorettes," whereas "bachelors" consistently favored women around 25.5 years old, regardless of their own age. Discussion: We discuss these findings within the context of parental investment theory and sexual strategies theory.}, language = {en} } @article{KleihDahmsBotrel2023, author = {Kleih-Dahms, Sonja C. and Botrel, Loic}, title = {Neurofeedback therapy to improve cognitive function in patients with chronic post-stroke attention deficits: a within-subjects comparison}, series = {Frontiers in Human Neuroscience}, volume = {17}, journal = {Frontiers in Human Neuroscience}, doi = {10.3389/fnhum.2023.1155584}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-322454}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Introduction We investigated a slow-cortical potential (SCP) neurofeedback therapy approach for rehabilitating chronic attention deficits after stroke. This study is the first attempt to train patients who survived stroke with SCP neurofeedback therapy. Methods We included N = 5 participants in a within-subjects follow-up design. We assessed neuropsychological and psychological performance at baseline (4 weeks before study onset), before study onset, after neurofeedback training, and at 3 months follow-up. Participants underwent 20 sessions of SCP neurofeedback training. Results Participants learned to regulate SCPs toward negativity, and we found indications for improved attention after the SCP neurofeedback therapy in some participants. Quality of life improved throughout the study according to engagement in activities of daily living. The self-reported motivation was related to mean SCP activation in two participants. Discussion We would like to bring attention to the potential of SCP neurofeedback therapy as a new rehabilitation method for treating post-stroke cognitive deficits. Studies with larger samples are warranted to corroborate the results.}, language = {en} } @article{FroehlichZahnerSchmalzingetal.2023, author = {Froehlich, Matthias and Zahner, Antonia and Schmalzing, Marc and Gernert, Michael and Strunz, Patrick-Pascal and Hueper, Sebastian and Portegys, Jan and Schwaneck, Eva Christina and Gadeholt, Ottar and K{\"u}bler, Andrea and Hewig, Johannes and Ziebell, Philipp}, title = {Patient-reported outcomes provide evidence for increased depressive symptoms and increased mental impairment in giant cell arteritis}, series = {Frontiers in Medicine}, volume = {10}, journal = {Frontiers in Medicine}, doi = {10.3389/fmed.2023.1146815}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-319761}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Objectives The spectrum of giant cell arteritis (GCA) and polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) represents highly inflammatory rheumatic diseases. Patients mostly report severe physical impairment. Possible consequences for mental health have been scarcely studied. The aim of this study was to investigate psychological well-being in the context of GCA and PMR. Methods Cross-sectional study with N = 100 patients with GCA and/or PMR (GCA-PMR). Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) were measured using the Short Form 36 Version 2 (SF-36v2) and visual analog scale (VAS) assessment. Moreover, the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9) was used in 35 of 100 patients to detect depression. To compare PROs with physician assessment, VAS was also rated from physician perspective. To assess a possible association with inflammation itself, serological parameters of inflammation (C-reactive protein [CRP], erythrocyte sedimentation rate [ESR]) were included. Results In all scales of the SF-36v2 except General Health (GH) and in the physical and mental sum score (PCS, MCS), a significant impairment compared to the German reference collective was evident (MCS: d = 0.533, p < 0.001). In the PHQ-9 categorization, 14 of the 35 (40\%) showed evidence of major depression disorder. VAS Patient correlated significantly with PHQ-9 and SF-36 in all categories, while VAS Physician showed only correlations to physical categories and not in the mental dimensions. Regarding inflammatory parameters, linear regression showed CRP to be a complementary significant positive predictor of mental health subscale score, independent of pain. Conclusion PRO show a relevant impairment of mental health up to symptoms of major depression disorder. The degree of depressive symptoms is also distinctly associated with the serological inflammatory marker CRP.}, language = {en} } @article{BuergerSchoenfeldScheineretal.2023, author = {B{\"u}rger, Arne and Schoenfeld, Cornelia von and Scheiner, Christin and Seidel, Alexandra and Wasserscheid, Antonia and Gad, Doreya and Kittel-Schneider, Sarah and Romanos, Marcel and Reiter, Andrea M. F.}, title = {Universal prevention for non-suicidal self-injury in adolescents is scarce - A systematic review}, series = {Frontiers in Psychiatry}, volume = {14}, journal = {Frontiers in Psychiatry}, doi = {10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1130610}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-357490}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) during adolescence is a high-risk marker for the development and persistence of mental health problems and has been recognized as a significant public health problem. Whereas targeted prevention has indeed shown to be effective in reducing NSSI and improve mental health problems, access to such programs is limited. By face validity, universal prevention of NSSI seems an ideal starting point for a stepped-care model to circumvent a lack of resources in the medical care system. However, it is yet unclear how effective such approaches are. Here, we provide a summary of existing work on universal prevention of NSSI in adolescents younger than 21 years based on a systematic literature search. We found that only seven studies are available. None of the programs evaluated was found to be effective in reducing the incidence or frequency of NSSI. After providing a comprehensive summary of the existing work, we evaluate the fact that existing work primarily focusses on selected/targeted prevention and on psychoeducational methods. We derive implications for future directions in the field of universal prevention of NSSI.}, language = {en} } @article{BellingerWehrmannRohdeetal.2023, author = {Bellinger, Daniel and Wehrmann, Kristin and Rohde, Anna and Schuppert, Maria and St{\"o}rk, Stefan and Flohr-Jost, Michael and Gall, Dominik and Pauli, Paul and Deckert, J{\"u}rgen and Herrmann, Martin J. and Erhardt-Lehmann, Angelika}, title = {The application of virtual reality exposure versus relaxation training in music performance anxiety: a randomized controlled study}, series = {BMC Psychiatry}, volume = {23}, journal = {BMC Psychiatry}, doi = {10.1186/s12888-023-05040-z}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-357833}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Background Performance anxiety is the most frequently reported anxiety disorder among professional musicians. Typical symptoms are - on a physical level - the consequences of an increase in sympathetic tone with cardiac stress, such as acceleration of heartbeat, increase in blood pressure, increased respiratory rate and tremor up to nausea or flush reactions. These symptoms can cause emotional distress, a reduced musical and artistical performance up to an impaired functioning. While anxiety disorders are preferably treated using cognitive-behavioral therapy with exposure, this approach is rather difficult for treating music performance anxiety since the presence of a public or professional jury is required and not easily available. The use of virtual reality (VR) could therefore display an alternative. So far, no therapy studies on music performance anxiety applying virtual reality exposure therapy have investigated the therapy outcome including cardiovascular changes as outcome parameters. Methods This mono-center, prospective, randomized and controlled clinical trial has a pre-post design with a follow-up period of 6 months. 46 professional and semi-professional musicians will be recruited and allocated randomly to an VR exposure group or a control group receiving progressive muscle relaxation training. Both groups will be treated over 4 single sessions. Music performance anxiety will be diagnosed based on a clinical interview using ICD-10 and DSM-5 criteria for specific phobia or social anxiety. A behavioral assessment test is conducted three times (pre, post, follow-up) in VR through an audition in a concert hall. Primary outcomes are the changes in music performance anxiety measured by the German B{\"u}hnenangstfragebogen and the cardiovascular reactivity reflected by heart rate variability (HRV). Secondary outcomes are changes in blood pressure, stress parameters such as cortisol in the blood and saliva, neuropeptides, and DNA-methylation. Discussion The trial investigates the effect of VR exposure in musicians with performance anxiety compared to a relaxation technique on anxiety symptoms and corresponding cardiovascular parameters. We expect a reduction of anxiety but also a consecutive improvement of HRV with cardiovascular protective effects. Trial registration This study was registered on clinicaltrials.gov. (ClinicalTrials.gov Number: NCT05735860)}, language = {en} } @article{KrauseHerbort2023, author = {Krause, Lisa-Marie and Herbort, Oliver}, title = {Just visual context or part of the gesture? The role of arm orientation in bent pointing interpretation}, series = {Acta Psychologica}, volume = {241}, journal = {Acta Psychologica}, doi = {10.1016/j.actpsy.2023.104062}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-349839}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Pointing gestures can take on different shapes. For example, people often point with a bent wrist at a referent that is occluded by another object. We hypothesized that while the extrapolation of the index finger is the most important visual cue in such bent pointing gestures, arm orientation is affecting interpretations as well. We tested two competing hypotheses. First, the arm could be processed as a less reliable but additional direction cue also indicating the referent. Consequently, the index finger extrapolation would be biased towards the arm direction (assimilation effect). Second, the arm could be perceived as visual context of the index finger, leading to an interpretation that is repulsed from the arm direction (contrast effect). To differentiate between both, we conducted two experiments in which arm and finger orientation of a virtual pointer were independently manipulated. Participants were asked to determine the pointed-at location. As expected, participants based their interpretations on the extrapolation of the index finger. In line with the second hypothesis, the more the arm was oriented upwards, the lower the point was interpreted and vice versa. Thus, interpretation pattern indicated a contrast effect. Unexpectedly, gestures with aligned arm and index finger deviated from the general contrast effect and were interpreted linearly compared to bent gestures. In sum, the experiments show that interpretations of bent pointing gestures are not only based on the direction of the index finger but also depend on the arm orientation and its relationship to the index finger orientation.}, language = {en} } @article{ZiebellRodriguesForsteretal.2023, author = {Ziebell, Philipp and Rodrigues, Johannes and Forster, Andr{\´e} and Sanguinetti, Joseph L. and Allen, John JB. and Hewig, Johannes}, title = {Inhibition of midfrontal theta with transcranial ultrasound explains greater approach versus withdrawal behavior in humans}, series = {Brain Stimulation}, volume = {16}, journal = {Brain Stimulation}, number = {5}, doi = {10.1016/j.brs.2023.08.011}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-349890}, pages = {1278-1288}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Highlights • Transcranial ultrasound neuromodulation/stimulation (TUS) is a growing field. • We conducted a double-blind sham-controlled within-subjects large sample TUS study. • Right prefrontal cortex TUS inhibits midfrontal theta electroencephalography (MFT). • TUS MFT inhibition explains greater approach versus withdrawal in a virtual T-maze. • This distinct TUS-MFT-behavior link merits future basic and applied research. Abstract Recent reviews highlighted low-intensity transcranial focused ultrasound (TUS) as a promising new tool for non-invasive neuromodulation in basic and applied sciences. Our preregistered double-blind within-subjects study (N = 152) utilized TUS targeting the right prefrontal cortex, which, in earlier work, was found to positively enhance self-reported global mood, decrease negative states of self-reported emotional conflict (anxiety/worrying), and modulate related midfrontal functional magnetic resonance imaging activity in affect regulation brain networks. To further explore TUS effects on objective physiological and behavioral variables, we used a virtual T-maze task that has been established in prior studies to measure motivational conflicts regarding whether participants execute approach versus withdrawal behavior (with free-choice responses via continuous joystick movements) while allowing to record related electroencephalographic data such as midfrontal theta activity (MFT). MFT, a reliable marker of conflict representation on a neuronal level, was of particular interest to us since it has repeatedly been shown to explain related behavior, with relatively low MFT typically preceding approach-like risky behavior and relatively high MFT typically preceding withdrawal-like risk aversion. Our central hypothesis is that TUS decreases MFT in T-maze conflict situations and thereby increases approach and reduces withdrawal. Results indicate that TUS led to significant MFT decreases, which significantly explained increases in approach behavior and decreases in withdrawal behavior. This study expands TUS evidence on a physiological and behavioral level with a large sample size of human subjects, suggesting the promise of further research based on this distinct TUS-MFT-behavior link to influence conflict monitoring and its behavioral consequences. Ultimately, this can serve as a foundation for future clinical work to establish TUS interventions for emotional and motivational mental health.}, language = {en} } @article{WeisKunde2023, author = {Weis, Patrick P. and Kunde, Wilfried}, title = {Overreliance on inefficient computer-mediated information retrieval is countermanded by strategy advice that promotes memory-mediated retrieval}, series = {Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications}, volume = {8}, journal = {Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications}, doi = {10.1186/s41235-023-00526-6}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-357892}, year = {2023}, abstract = {With ubiquitous computing, problems can be solved using more strategies than ever, though many strategies feature subpar performance. Here, we explored whether and how simple advice regarding when to use which strategy can improve performance. Specifically, we presented unfamiliar alphanumeric equations (e.g., A + 5 = F) and asked whether counting up the alphabet from the left letter by the indicated number resulted in the right letter. In an initial choice block, participants could engage in one of three cognitive strategies: (a) internal counting, (b) internal retrieval of previously generated solutions, or (c) computer-mediated external retrieval of solutions. Participants belonged to one of two groups: they were either instructed to first try internal retrieval before using external retrieval, or received no specific use instructions. In a subsequent internal block with identical instructions for both groups, external retrieval was made unavailable. The 'try internal retrieval first' instruction in the choice block led to pronounced benefits (d = .76) in the internal block. Benefits were due to facilitated creation and retrieval of internal memory traces and possibly also due to improved strategy choice. These results showcase how simple strategy advice can greatly help users navigate cognitive environments. More generally, our results also imply that uninformed use of external tools (i.e., technology) can bear the risk of not developing and using even more superior internal processing strategies.}, language = {en} } @article{ReisPfisterKundeetal.2023, author = {Reis, Moritz and Pfister, Roland and Kunde, Wilfried and Foerster, Anna}, title = {Creative thinking does not promote dishonesty}, series = {Royal Society Open Science}, volume = {10}, journal = {Royal Society Open Science}, number = {12}, issn = {2054-5703}, doi = {10.1098/rsos.230879}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-349859}, year = {2023}, abstract = {We assessed the relation of creativity and unethical behaviour by manipulating the thinking style of participants (N = 450 adults) and measuring the impact of this manipulation on the prevalence of dishonest behaviour. Participants performed one of three inducer tasks: the alternative uses task to promote divergent thinking, the remote associates task to promote convergent thinking, or a simple classification task for rule-based thinking. Before and after this manipulation, participants conducted the mind game as a straightforward measure of dishonesty. Dishonest behaviour increased from before to after the intervention, but we found no credible evidence that this increase differed between induced mindsets. Exploratory analyses did not support any relation of trait creativity and dishonesty either. We conclude that the influence of creative thinking on unethical behaviour seems to be more ambiguous than assumed in earlier research or might be restricted to specific populations or contexts.}, language = {en} } @article{WehrheimFaskowitzSpornsetal.2023, author = {Wehrheim, Maren H. and Faskowitz, Joshua and Sporns, Olaf and Fiebach, Christian J. and Kaschube, Matthias and Hilger, Kirsten}, title = {Few temporally distributed brain connectivity states predict human cognitive abilities}, series = {NeuroImage}, volume = {277}, journal = {NeuroImage}, doi = {10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120246}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-349874}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Highlights • Brain connectivity states identified by cofluctuation strength. • CMEP as new method to robustly predict human traits from brain imaging data. • Network-identifying connectivity 'events' are not predictive of cognitive ability. • Sixteen temporally independent fMRI time frames allow for significant prediction. • Neuroimaging-based assessment of cognitive ability requires sufficient scan lengths. Abstract Human functional brain connectivity can be temporally decomposed into states of high and low cofluctuation, defined as coactivation of brain regions over time. Rare states of particularly high cofluctuation have been shown to reflect fundamentals of intrinsic functional network architecture and to be highly subject-specific. However, it is unclear whether such network-defining states also contribute to individual variations in cognitive abilities - which strongly rely on the interactions among distributed brain regions. By introducing CMEP, a new eigenvector-based prediction framework, we show that as few as 16 temporally separated time frames (< 1.5\% of 10 min resting-state fMRI) can significantly predict individual differences in intelligence (N = 263, p < .001). Against previous expectations, individual's network-defining time frames of particularly high cofluctuation do not predict intelligence. Multiple functional brain networks contribute to the prediction, and all results replicate in an independent sample (N = 831). Our results suggest that although fundamentals of person-specific functional connectomes can be derived from few time frames of highest connectivity, temporally distributed information is necessary to extract information about cognitive abilities. This information is not restricted to specific connectivity states, like network-defining high-cofluctuation states, but rather reflected across the entire length of the brain connectivity time series.}, language = {en} } @article{GutzeitWellerMuthetal.2024, author = {Gutzeit, Julian and Weller, Lisa and Muth, Felicitas and K{\"u}rten, Jens and Huestegge, Lynn}, title = {Eye did this! Sense of agency in eye movements}, series = {Acta Psychologica}, volume = {243}, journal = {Acta Psychologica}, doi = {10.1016/j.actpsy.2023.104121}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-349819}, year = {2024}, abstract = {This study investigates the sense of agency (SoA) for saccades with implicit and explicit agency measures. In two eye tracking experiments, participants moved their eyes towards on-screen stimuli that subsequently changed color. Participants then either reproduced the temporal interval between saccade and color-change (Experiment 1) or reported the time points of these events with an auditory Libet clock (Experiment 2) to measure temporal binding effects as implicit indices of SoA. Participants were either made to believe to exert control over the color change or not (agency manipulation). Explicit ratings indicated that the manipulation of causal beliefs and hence agency was successful. However, temporal binding was only evident for caused effects, and only when a sufficiently sensitive procedure was used (auditory Libet clock). This suggests a feebler connection between temporal binding and SoA than previously proposed. The results also provide evidence for a relatively fast acquisition of sense of agency for previously never experienced types of action-effect associations. This indicates that the underlying processes of action control may be rooted in more intricate and adaptable cognitive models than previously thought. Oculomotor SoA as addressed in the present study presumably represents an important cognitive foundation of gaze-based social interaction (social sense of agency) or gaze-based human-machine interaction scenarios. Public significance statement: In this study, sense of agency for eye movements in the non-social domain is investigated in detail, using both explicit and implicit measures. Therefore, it offers novel and specific insights into comprehending sense of agency concerning effects induced by eye movements, as well as broader insights into agency pertaining to entirely newly acquired types of action-effect associations. Oculomotor sense of agency presumably represents an important cognitive foundation of gaze-based social interaction (social agency) or gaze-based human-machine interaction scenarios. Due to peculiarities of the oculomotor domain such as the varying degree of volitional control, eye movements could provide new information regarding more general theories of sense of agency in future research.}, language = {en} } @article{ZilligPauliWieseretal.2023, author = {Zillig, Anna-Lena and Pauli, Paul and Wieser, Matthias and Reicherts, Philipp}, title = {Better safe than sorry? - On the influence of learned safety on pain perception}, series = {PloS One}, volume = {18}, journal = {PloS One}, number = {11}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0289047}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-349905}, year = {2023}, abstract = {The experience of threat was found to result—mostly—in increased pain, however it is still unclear whether the exact opposite, namely the feeling of safety may lead to a reduction of pain. To test this hypothesis, we conducted two between-subject experiments (N = 94; N = 87), investigating whether learned safety relative to a neutral control condition can reduce pain, while threat should lead to increased pain compared to a neutral condition. Therefore, participants first underwent either threat or safety conditioning, before entering an identical test phase, where the previously conditioned threat or safety cue and a newly introduced visual cue were presented simultaneously with heat pain stimuli. Methodological changes were performed in experiment 2 to prevent safety extinction and to facilitate conditioning in the first place: We included additional verbal instructions, increased the maximum length of the ISI and raised CS-US contingency in the threat group from 50\% to 75\%. In addition to pain ratings and ratings of the visual cues (threat, safety, arousal, valence, and contingency), in both experiments, we collected heart rate and skin conductance. Analysis of the cue ratings during acquisition indicate successful threat and safety induction, however results of the test phase, when also heat pain was administered, demonstrate rapid safety extinction in both experiments. Results suggest rather small modulation of subjective and physiological pain responses following threat or safety cues relative to the neutral condition. However, exploratory analysis revealed reduced pain ratings in later trials of the experiment in the safety group compared to the threat group in both studies, suggesting different temporal dynamics for threat and safety learning and extinction, respectively. Perspective: The present results demonstrate the challenge to maintain safety in the presence of acute pain and suggest more research on the interaction of affective learning mechanism and pain processing.}, language = {en} } @article{StrobachKuertenHuestegge2023, author = {Strobach, Tilo and K{\"u}rten, Jens and Huestegge, Lynn}, title = {Benefits of repeated alternations - task-specific vs. task-general sequential adjustments of dual-task order control}, series = {Acta Psychologica}, volume = {236}, journal = {Acta Psychologica}, doi = {10.1016/j.actpsy.2023.103921}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-349868}, year = {2023}, abstract = {An important cognitive requirement in multitasking is the decision of how multiple tasks should be temporally scheduled (task order control). Specifically, task order switches (vs. repetitions) yield performance costs (i.e., task-order switch costs), suggesting that task order scheduling is a vital part of configuring a task set. Recently, it has been shown that this process takes specific task-related characteristics into account: task order switches were easier when switching to a preferred (vs. non-preferred) task order. Here, we ask whether another determinant of task order control, namely the phenomenon that a task order switch in a previous trial facilitates a task order switch in a current trial (i.e., a sequential modulation of task order switch effect) also takes task-specific characteristics into account. Based on three experiments involving task order switches between a preferred (dominant oculomotor task prior to non-dominant manual/pedal task) and a non-preferred (vice versa) order, we replicated the finding that task order switching (in Trial N) is facilitated after a previous switch (vs. repetition in Trial N - 1) in task order. There was no substantial evidence in favor of a significant difference when switching to the preferred vs. non-preferred order and in the analyses of the dominant oculomotor task and the non-dominant manual task. This indicates different mechanisms underlying the control of immediate task order configuration (indexed by task order switch costs) and the sequential modulation of these costs based on the task order transition type in the previous trial.}, language = {en} } @article{PfisterSchwarzHolzmannetal.2023, author = {Pfister, Roland and Schwarz, Katharina A. and Holzmann, Patricia and Reis, Moritz and Yogeeswaran, Kumar and Kunde, Wilfried}, title = {Headlines win elections: mere exposure to fictitious news media alters voting behavior}, series = {PloS One}, volume = {18}, journal = {PloS One}, number = {8}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0289341}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-349845}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Repeatedly encountering a stimulus biases the observer's affective response and evaluation of the stimuli. Here we provide evidence for a causal link between mere exposure to fictitious news reports and subsequent voting behavior. In four pre-registered online experiments, participants browsed through newspaper webpages and were tacitly exposed to names of fictitious politicians. Exposure predicted voting behavior in a subsequent mock election, with a consistent preference for frequent over infrequent names, except when news items were decidedly negative. Follow-up analyses indicated that mere media presence fuels implicit personality theories regarding a candidate's vigor in political contexts. News outlets should therefore be mindful to cover political candidates as evenly as possible.}, language = {en} } @article{EndlichRichterMarxetal.2020, author = {Endlich, Darius and Richter, Tobias and Marx, Peter and Lenhard, Wolfgang and Moll, Kristina and Witzel, Bj{\"o}rn and Schulte-K{\"o}rne, Gerd}, title = {Spelling Error Detection : A Valid and Economical Task for Assessing Spelling Skills in Elementary-School Children}, series = {Zeitschrift f{\"u}r Entwicklungspsychologie und P{\"a}dagogische Psychologie}, volume = {52}, journal = {Zeitschrift f{\"u}r Entwicklungspsychologie und P{\"a}dagogische Psychologie}, number = {1-2}, issn = {0049-8637}, doi = {10.1026/0049-8637/a000227}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-244665}, pages = {25-40}, year = {2020}, abstract = {The ability to spell words correctly is a key competence for educational and professional achievement. Economical procedures are essential to identifying children with spelling problems as early as possible. Given the strong evidence showing that reading and spelling are based on the same orthographic knowledge, error-detection tasks (EDTs) could be considered such an economical procedure. Although EDTs are widely used in English-speaking countries, the few studies in German-speaking countries investigated only pupils in secondary school. The present study investigated N = 1,513 children in elementary school. We predicted spelling competencies (measured by dictation or gap-fill dictation) based on an EDT via linear regression. Error-detection abilities significantly predicted spelling competencies (R² between .509 and .679), indicating a strong connection. Predictive values in identifying children with poor spelling abilities with an EDT proved to be sufficient. Error detection for the assessment of spelling skills is therefore a valid instrument for transparent languages as well.}, language = {en} } @article{SeegerLenhardWisniewski2021, author = {Seeger, Jennifer and Lenhard, Wolfgang and Wisniewski, Katrin}, title = {Metakognitives Strategiewissen in sprachbezogenen Situationen : Interne Struktur und Validit{\"a}t des ScenEx}, series = {Diagnostica}, volume = {67}, journal = {Diagnostica}, number = {4}, issn = {0012-1924}, doi = {10.1026/0012-1924/a000275}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-242375}, pages = {189-199}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Studieren stellt hohe Anforderungen an selbstregulatorische F{\"a}higkeiten und eigenverantwortlichen Umgang mit schwierigen Situationen. Aus den zus{\"a}tzlichen sprachlichen Barrieren f{\"u}r ausl{\"a}ndische Studierende erwachsen spezifische selbstregulatorische Aufgaben, wie der Umgang mit Verst{\"a}ndnisproblemen in Vorlesungen. Da hierf{\"u}r bisher kaum geeignete Erhebungsinstrumente existieren, versucht ScenEx diese L{\"u}cke zu schließen. Der Test erfasst das metakognitive Strategiewissen in sprachlich herausfordernden Situationen im Studienalltag. Anhand einer Stichprobe von 290 ausl{\"a}ndischen Studierenden im ersten Fachsemester wird die psychometrische Qualit{\"a}t und interne Struktur des Instruments {\"u}berpr{\"u}ft. ScenEx zeigt eine zufriedenstellende interne Konsistenz und gute Itemfit-Kennwerte, erwartungskonform liegen lokale stochastische Abh{\"a}ngigkeiten der Aufgaben innerhalb der Szenarien vor. Eine konfirmatorische Faktorenanalyse best{\"a}tigt die Grobstruktur der Szenarien und des Gesamtscores des Tests. Das Verfahren ist f{\"u}r die weitere Entwicklung der Sprachkompetenz {\"u}ber die anf{\"a}ngliche Sprachf{\"a}higkeit hinaus pr{\"a}diktiv. ScenEx erweist sich insgesamt als ein reliables und valides Instrument zur Erfassung des Strategiewissens in schwierigen Situationen im Studium.}, language = {de} } @article{CaoSteinbornHaendel2021, author = {Cao, Liyu and Steinborn, Michael B. and Haendel, Barbara F.}, title = {Delusional thinking and action binding in healthy individuals}, series = {Scientific Reports}, volume = {11}, journal = {Scientific Reports}, number = {1}, doi = {10.1038/s41598-021-97977-y}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-264707}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Action binding is the effect that the perceived time of an action is shifted towards the action related feedback. A much larger action binding effect in schizophrenia compared to normal controls has been shown, which might be due to positive symptoms like delusions. Here we investigated the relationship between delusional thinking and action binding in healthy individuals, predicting a positive correlation between them. The action binding effect was evaluated by comparing the perceived time of a keypress between an operant (keypress triggering a sound) and a baseline condition (keypress alone), with a novel testing method that massively improved the precision of the subjective timing measurement. A positive correlation was found between the tendency of delusional thinking (measured by the 21-item Peters et al. delusions inventory) and action binding across participants after controlling for the effect of testing order between operant and baseline conditions. The results indicate that delusional thinking in particular influences action time perception and support the notion of a continuous distribution of schizotypal traits with normal controls at one end and clinical patients at the other end.}, language = {en} } @article{RiechelmannGamerBoeckleretal.2021, author = {Riechelmann, Eva and Gamer, Matthias and B{\"o}ckler, Anna and Huestegge, Lynn}, title = {How ubiquitous is the direct-gaze advantage? Evidence for an averted-gaze advantage in a gaze-discrimination task}, series = {Attention, Perception, \& Psychophysics}, volume = {83}, journal = {Attention, Perception, \& Psychophysics}, issn = {1943-3921}, doi = {10.3758/s13414-020-02147-3}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-235268}, pages = {215-237}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Human eye gaze conveys an enormous amount of socially relevant information, and the rapid assessment of gaze direction is of particular relevance in order to adapt behavior accordingly. Specifically, previous research demonstrated evidence for an advantage of processing direct (vs. averted) gaze. The present study examined discrimination performance for gaze direction (direct vs. averted) under controlled presentation conditions: Using a backward-masking gaze-discrimination task, photographs of faces with direct and averted gaze were briefly presented, followed by a mask stimulus. Additionally, effects of facial context on gaze discrimination were assessed by either presenting gaze direction in isolation (i.e., by only showing the eye region) or in the context of an upright or inverted face. Across three experiments, we consistently observed a facial context effect with highest discrimination performance for faces presented in upright position, lower performance for inverted faces, and lowest performance for eyes presented in isolation. Additionally, averted gaze was generally responded to faster and with higher accuracy than direct gaze, indicating an averted-gaze advantage. Overall, the results suggest that direct gaze is not generally associated with processing advantages, thereby highlighting the important role of presentation conditions and task demands in gaze perception.}, language = {en} } @article{BoecklerRennertRaettig2021, author = {B{\"o}ckler, Anne and Rennert, Annika and Raettig, Tim}, title = {Stranger, Lover, Friend?}, series = {Social Psychology}, volume = {52}, journal = {Social Psychology}, number = {3}, issn = {1864-9335}, doi = {10.1027/1864-9335/a000446}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-238721}, pages = {173-184}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Social exclusion, even from minimal game-based interactions, induces negative consequences. We investigated whether the nature of the relationship with the excluder modulates the effects of ostracism. Participants played a virtual ball-tossing game with a stranger and a friend (friend condition) or a stranger and their romantic partner (partner condition) while being fully included, fully excluded, excluded only by the stranger, or excluded only by their close other. Replicating previous findings, full exclusion impaired participants' basic-need satisfaction and relationship evaluation most severely. While the degree of exclusion mattered, the relationship to the excluder did not: Classic null hypothesis testing and Bayesian statistics showed no modulation of ostracism effects depending on whether participants were excluded by a stranger, a friend, or their partner.}, language = {en} } @article{WittkowskiScheuchenpflug2021, author = {Wittkowski, Joachim and Scheuchenpflug, Rainer}, title = {Evidence on the Conceptual Distinctness of Normal Grief From Depression}, series = {European Journal of Health Psychology}, volume = {28}, journal = {European Journal of Health Psychology}, number = {3}, issn = {2512-8442}, doi = {10.1027/2512-8442/a000077}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-236531}, pages = {101-110}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Background: The distinctness of grief from depression has been the subject of a long scholarly debate, even influencing definitions of diagnostic criteria. Aims: This study aims at clarifying the issue by a multifaceted analysis of data from a large German sample. Method: A community sample of 406 bereaved persons answered the Wuerzburg Grief Inventory (WGI), a multidimensional grief questionnaire designed to measure normal grief in the German language, and the General Depression Scale - Short Version (GDS-S), a self-report depression scale. Data were analyzed by factor analysis to identify structural (dis-)similarities of the constructs, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) to identify the influence of the factors relationship to the deceased, type of death, and time since loss on grief measures and depression scores. Results: Factor analysis clustered items referring to grief-related impairments and depression into one factor, items referring to other dimensions of grief on separate factors, however. Relationship to the deceased influenced the grief measures impairments and nearness to the deceased, but not depression scores if controlled for impairments. Type of death showed specific effects on grief scores, but not on depression scores. Time since loss influenced grief scores, but not depression scores. Limitations: The analysis is based on a self-selected community sample of grieving persons, self-report measures, and in part, on cross-sectional data. Conclusion: Factor analysis and objective data show a clear distinction of dimensions of grief and depression. The human experience of grief contains a sense of nearness to the lost person, feelings of guilt, and positive aspects of the loss experience in addition to components resembling depression.}, language = {en} } @article{WannagatWaizeneggerNiedling2021, author = {Wannagat, Wienke and Waizenegger, Gesine and Niedling, Gerhild}, title = {Coherence formation during narrative text processing: a comparison between auditory and audiovisual text presentation in 9- to 12-year-old children}, series = {Cognitive Processing}, volume = {22}, journal = {Cognitive Processing}, issn = {1612-4782}, doi = {10.1007/s10339-020-01008-z}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-235744}, pages = {299-310}, year = {2021}, abstract = {In an experiment with 114 children aged 9-12 years, we compared the ability to establish local and global coherence of narrative texts between auditory and audiovisual (auditory text and pictures) presentation. The participants listened to a series of short narrative texts, in each of which a protagonist pursued a goal. Following each text, we collected the response time to a query word that was either associated with a near or a distant causal antecedent of the final sentence. Analysis of these response times indicated that audiovisual presentation has advantages over auditory presentation for accessing information relevant for establishing both local and global coherence, but there are indications that this effect may be slightly more pronounced for global coherence.}, language = {en} } @article{CaoChenHaendel2020, author = {Cao, Liyu and Chen, Xinyu and Haendel, Barbara F.}, title = {Overground Walking Decreases Alpha Activity and Entrains Eye Movements in Humans}, series = {Frontiers in Human Neuroscience}, volume = {14}, journal = {Frontiers in Human Neuroscience}, issn = {1662-5161}, doi = {10.3389/fnhum.2020.561755}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-219872}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Experiments in animal models have shown that running increases neuronal activity in early visual areas in light as well as in darkness. This suggests that visual processing is influenced by locomotion independent of visual input. Combining mobile electroencephalography, motion- and eye-tracking, we investigated the influence of overground free walking on cortical alpha activity (~10 Hz) and eye movements in healthy humans. Alpha activity has been considered a valuable marker of inhibition of sensory processing and shown to negatively correlate with neuronal firing rates. We found that walking led to a decrease in alpha activity over occipital cortex compared to standing. This decrease was present during walking in darkness as well as during light. Importantly, eye movements could not explain the change in alpha activity. Nevertheless, we found that walking and eye related movements were linked. While the blink rate increased with increasing walking speed independent of light or darkness, saccade rate was only significantly linked to walking speed in the light. Pupil size, on the other hand, was larger during darkness than during light, but only showed a modulation by walking in darkness. Analyzing the effect of walking with respect to the stride cycle, we further found that blinks and saccades preferentially occurred during the double support phase of walking. Alpha power, as shown previously, was lower during the swing phase than during the double support phase. We however could exclude the possibility that the alpha modulation was introduced by a walking movement induced change in electrode impedance. Overall, our work indicates that the human visual system is influenced by the current locomotion state of the body. This influence affects eye movement pattern as well as neuronal activity in sensory areas and might form part of an implicit strategy to optimally extract sensory information during locomotion.}, language = {en} } @article{WertgenRichter2020, author = {Wertgen, Andreas G. and Richter, Tobias}, title = {Source credibility modulates the validation of implausible information}, series = {Memory \& Cognition}, volume = {48}, journal = {Memory \& Cognition}, issn = {0090-502X}, doi = {10.3758/s13421-020-01067-9}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-234825}, pages = {1359-1375}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Validation of text information as a general mechanism for detecting inconsistent or false information is an integral part of text comprehension. This study examined how the credibility of the information source affects validation processes. Two experiments investigated combined effects of source credibility and plausibility of information during validation with explicit (ratings) and implicit (reading times) measurements. Participants read short stories with a high-credible versus low-credible person that stated a consistent or inconsistent assertion with general world knowledge. Ratings of plausibility and ratings of source credibility were lower when a credible source stated a world-knowledge inconsistent assertion compared with a low-credible source. Reading times on target sentences and on spillover sentences were slower when a credible source stated an assertion inconsistent with world knowledge compared with a low-credible source, suggesting that source information modulated the validation of implausible information. These results show that source credibility modulates validation and suggest a bidirectional relationship of perceived plausibility and source credibility in the reading process.}, language = {en} } @article{GesellNiklasSchmiedeleretal.2020, author = {Gesell, Nathalie and Niklas, Frank and Schmiedeler, Sandra and Segerer, Robin}, title = {Mindfulness and romantic relationship outcomes: the mediating role of conflict resolution styles and closeness}, series = {Mindfulness}, volume = {11}, journal = {Mindfulness}, issn = {1868-8527}, doi = {10.1007/s12671-020-01449-9}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-235080}, pages = {2314-2324}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Objectives The association of mindfulness and romantic relationship outcomes such as partnership quality and satisfaction is well-established; however, the mechanisms of action are not yet clear. The current study tested conflict resolution styles and closeness as possible mediating factors. We hypothesized that trait mindfulness would increase the use of constructive conflict resolution styles (positive problem solving), decrease the use of destructive styles (conflict engagement, withdrawal, and compliance), and promote feelings of closeness between partners, which in turn would predict positive relationship outcomes (namely partnership quality, partnership satisfaction, and sexual satisfaction). Methods A total of 209 individuals (86\% German, 76\% female, mean age = 32 years) living in a relationship (31\% married) participated in an online questionnaire. Results Mediation analyses revealed that positive problem solving mediated the association between mindfulness and partnership quality with b = .09 (95\% CI = .03-.17), mindfulness and partnership satisfaction with b = .07 (95\% CI = .02-.13), and mindfulness and sexual satisfaction with b = .04 (95\% CI = .00-.10). Furthermore, a mediating role of withdrawal and closeness was shown for individual relationship outcomes. Conclusions Findings suggest that more positive problem solving, less withdrawal, and more closeness are mechanisms by which mindfulness is associated with positive relationship outcomes. The results of our study thus broaden our understanding of the processes that underlie fulfilling romantic relationships and, in turn, underline the positive effects of mindfulness.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Rinn2023, author = {Rinn, Robin}, title = {The Subjective Construction of Wealth and the Perception of Wealthy People. The Role of the Social Sample, Social Comparisons, and Mental Representations}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-32789}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-327894}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Although the concept of wealth is a topic that ancient philosophers have dealt with, relatively little attention is paid to it in psychology. This work sheds light on cognitive processes on how individuals derive a judgment about whether someone is rich and whether certain cues serve as subjective indicators of wealth. Based on three chapters that describe K = 11 observational and experimental studies (N = 2,315), three research questions shall be answered: First, to what extent do individuals differ when defining wealth? Secondly, are there universal cues of wealth that individuals use to identify rich people? And if yes, in what sense do these cues depend on the situation or context? Furthermore, it will be asked whether there are situational boundaries under which those cues do not apply. The present research shows that individuals differ in defining wealth and that they take their personal life circumstances and situational cues into account to define wealth. Moreover, evidence for a coherent wealth cue model was found that describes cues that are used by individuals to identify the rich (i.e., particularly wealthy people), whereby the validity of these cues depends on several contextual (e.g., cultural) factors. Lastly, it was found that by isolating individual wealth cues and looking at core mental representations of these cues, they may not be perceived as indicative for rich people anymore. The conclusions reported here set a foundation for further research on the perceptions of wealth which may be particularly relevant for the political discourse}, subject = {Milieu}, language = {en} } @article{TeichmuellerBastRittneretal.2022, author = {Teichm{\"u}ller, K. and Bast, L. and Rittner, H. L. and Kindl, G.}, title = {Chronische Schmerzen im Seniorenalter vor dem Hintergrund der COVID-19-Pandemie}, series = {Der Schmerz}, volume = {36}, journal = {Der Schmerz}, doi = {10.1007/s00482-022-00663-9}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-346778}, pages = {429-436}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Hintergrund Internationale Studien belegen negative Auswirkungen der COVID-19-Pandemie auf Stimmung und Stresslevel befragter Personen. Auch konnten Zusammenh{\"a}nge zwischen der Pandemie und h{\"o}heren Schmerzst{\"a}rken sowie st{\"a}rkerer schmerzbedingter Beeintr{\"a}chtigung nachgewiesen werden. Die Studienlage dazu, ob {\"a}ltere Menschen besser oder schlechter mit der Pandemie und ihren Auswirkungen umgehen k{\"o}nnen als j{\"u}ngere Personen, ist aber uneindeutig. Methodik Seit einigen Jahren bietet das Universit{\"a}tsklinikum W{\"u}rzburg ein multimodales Schmerztherapieprogramm f{\"u}r SeniorInnen an. F{\"u}r die vorliegende Arbeit wurden retrospektiv klinische Routinedaten zum Zeitpunkt des interdisziplin{\"a}ren multimodalen Assessments von n = 75 TeilnehmerInnen in den Jahren 2018 und 2019 mit denen von n = 42 Patientinnen w{\"a}hrend der COVID-19-Pandemie 2020-2021 verglichen. Wir untersuchten Schmerz, psychische Belastung und k{\"o}rperliches Funktionsniveau mithilfe des Deutschen Schmerzfragebogens, klinischer Diagnostik und geriatrischer Funktionstests. Ergebnisse Die beiden Teilstichproben unterschieden sich nicht in demografischen Merkmalen. Bez{\"u}glich Schmerzintensit{\"a}t und Beeintr{\"a}chtigung sowie der psychischen Belastung fanden sich ebenfalls keine signifikanten Unterschiede. Lediglich die Anzahl der schmerzbedingt beeintr{\"a}chtigten Tage war vor Corona signifikant h{\"o}her. Die geriatrischen Funktionstests zeigten signifikant bessere Werte w{\"a}hrend der Pandemie an. Diskussion Die vorliegenden Daten zeigen keine Verschlechterung von Schmerz und k{\"o}rperlichem sowie psychischem Wohlbefinden bei SeniorInnen vor dem Hintergrund der Pandemie. Weitere Studien sollten die m{\"o}glichen Gr{\"u}nde daf{\"u}r untersuchen. Diese k{\"o}nnten in einer h{\"o}heren Resilienz der SeniorInnen basierend auf ihrer Lebenserfahrung, finanziellen Sicherheit oder einer geringeren Ver{\"a}nderung des Lebensalltags liegen.}, language = {de} } @phdthesis{Cronje2024, author = {Cronj{\´e}, Johrine}, title = {Trust towards Virtual Humans in Immersive Virtual Reality and Influencing Factors}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-34814}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-348143}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2024}, abstract = {Virtual humans (VHs) hold immense potential for collaboration in social virtual reality (VR). As VR technology advances, it's vital to assess the psychological effects on VH trust and user privacy to build meaningful social interactions in VR. In social VR, users must be able to trust the VHs they interact with as they navigate through socio-cultural activities. The evaluation of trustworthiness in VHs profoundly impacts interaction quality and user willingness to engage. Conversely, untrustworthy VHs can harm user experiences, privacy, and VR engagement. To address this, we conducted immersive VR studies, exploring how psychological factors influence user's VH trust evaluation under various psychological conditions. This research is pivotal for developing strategies to enhance user privacy, establish secure VR environments, and create a foundation of trust that supports immersive socio-cultural experiences in VR. To date, there are no established interpersonal trust measurement tools specifically for VHs in VR. In study 1 (the familiarity study) of the current thesis the VR-adjusted version of the social conditioned place preference paradigm (SCPP) by Kiser et al., (2022) was identified as a potential trust measurement tool. We tested whether the familiarity of a VH influenced trust as measured with the SCPP paradigm and other self-defined outcome measures, in a Computer Augmented Virtual Environment (CAVE). The CAVE is a VR system that combines immersive VR with real-world elements. It consists of a room-sized space where the walls are used as projection screens to display virtual scenes and objects. In this within - subject design (n = 20), half of the participants were familiarized with one VH and tasked to explore and interact in a realistic looking virtual art museum environment. The participant's evaluation of the VH's trustworthiness was measured as well as their subsequent trust behaviours. Results revealed no significant differences in the evaluation of the VH's trustworthiness nor any behavioural differences between conditions. The findings of the impact of a VH's familiarity on trust is inconclusive due to the major limitations of the paradigm. We concluded that the SCPP paradigm needs further validation and the proposed proxies of trust need to be re-evaluated. The findings were considered in the following study. The virtual maze paradigm design of Hale, (2018) was identified as a potential trust measurement tool, however several limitations are associated with its use to measure trust in VR. In study 2 (a validation study), improvements were made to the virtual maze paradigm of Hale, (2018) and a variant of this paradigm was implemented. We conducted a validation study with 70 participants in a between-subject design with VH trustworthiness as the between-subject factor. Participants wore a head-mounted display (HMD), to deliver an immersive VR experience. In our version of the virtual maze, it was the task of the users (the trustors) to navigate through a maze in VR, where they could interact with a VH (the trustee). They could choose to ask for advice and follow the advice from the VH if they wanted to. The number of times participants asked and followed advice and the time it took to respond to the given advice served as behavioural proxies/measures of trust. The two conditions (trustworthy vs. untrustworthy) did not differ in the content of the advice but in the appearance, tone of voice and engagement of the trustees (allegedly an avatar controlled by other participants). Results indicated that the experimental manipulation was successful, as participants rated the VH as more trustworthy in the trustworthy condition compared with the VH in the untrustworthy condition. Importantly, this manipulation affected the trust behaviour of participants, who, in the trustworthy condition, asked for advice and followed advice more often, indicating that the paradigm is sensitive to differences in VH's trustworthiness. Thus, our paradigm can be used to measure differences in interpersonal trust towards VHs and may serve as a valuable research tool for researchers who study trust in VR. Therefore, study 2 fills the gap in the literature, for an interpersonal trust measurement tool specifically for VHs in VR. Two experimental studies, with a sample size of 50 participants each, utilized the virtual maze paradigm where participants entered 12 rooms under different conditions. We examined the influence of cognitive load (CL) on trust towards VH in VR in study 3 (Cognitive load study), and the influence of emotional affect (Emotional affect study) on trust towards VH in VR in study 4 (EA study). In both studies, we assessed participant's evaluation of a VH's trustworthiness, along with three behavioural indicators of trust in the maze task: 1) frequency of advice asked, 2) frequency of advice followed, and 3) the time taken by participants to execute the received advice. In study 3, the CL was manipulated with the auditory 1-back task in the high cognitive load condition (HCL). In study 4, the Autobiographical Emotional Memory Task (AEMT) was used to manipulate the EA of participants in the negative emotional affect (NEA) condition. As an additional manipulation, while participants were immersed in VR, they were exposed to 12 negative pictures and sounds that was presented simultaneously to strengthen the initial manipulation. The manipulation of the within-subject factors (CL and EA) was successful in both studies, as significant differences between conditions were observed in both studies (higher CL in the HCL condition and a more negative EA in the NEA condition). However, only CL influenced participant's evaluation of the VH's trustworthiness. The VH were evaluated as significantly more trustworthy after the HCL condition. Despite the difference in trust evaluation, there was no difference in advice asking or following. Participants in study 4 asked and followed advice due to their trust in the VH and asked and followed advice equally often in both conditions. Importantly, significant differences were observed in the participants response times in both studies. In study 3 during the HCL condition participants followed advice quicker. The order in which the conditions were presented influenced the experience of CL. Participants experienced higher levels of CL and responded to advice significantly faster when low cognitive load (LCL) was presented as the first condition compared with LCL as the second condition. In study 4 participants in the NEA condition followed advice slower similar to the findings of study 3. The order in which the conditions were presented had a significant effect on the EA. Participants asked and followed advice less when the NEA condition was presented first compared with when it is presented second. Possible explanations for the findings are discussed in the thesis. Overall, this thesis offers a novel tool for trust measurement (the virtual maze paradigm) and contributes to understanding the role of psychological factors in trust towards virtual humans in virtual reality.}, subject = {Virtuelle Realit{\"a}t}, language = {en} } @article{HausmanKubik2023, author = {Hausman, Hannah and Kubik, Veit}, title = {Delayed metacomprehension judgments do not directly improve learning from texts}, series = {Journal of Intelligence}, volume = {11}, journal = {Journal of Intelligence}, number = {7}, issn = {2079-3200}, doi = {10.3390/jintelligence11070150}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-323361}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Making judgments of learning (JOLs) after studying can directly improve learning. This JOL reactivity has been shown for simple materials but has scarcely been investigated with educationally relevant materials such as expository texts. The few existing studies have not yet reported any consistent gains in text comprehension due to providing JOLs. In the present study, we hypothesized that increasing the chances of covert retrieval attempts when making JOLs after each of five to-be-studied text passages would produce comprehension benefits at 1 week compared to restudy. In a between-subjects design, we manipulated both whether participants (N = 210) were instructed to covertly retrieve the texts, and whether they made delayed target-absent JOLs. The results indicated that delayed, target-absent JOLs did not improve text comprehension after 1 week, regardless of whether prior instructions to engage in covert retrieval were provided. Based on the two-stage model of JOLs, we reasoned that participants' retrieval attempts during metacomprehension judgments were either insufficient (i.e., due to a quick familiarity assessment) or were ineffective (e.g., due to low retrieval success).}, language = {en} } @book{SmithPasqualiniMachtEllgring2024, author = {Smith Pasqualini, Marcia and Macht, Michael and Ellgring, Heiner}, title = {Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for People with Parkinson's Disease and Caregivers : A Guide for Mental Health Professionals}, publisher = {W{\"u}rzburg University Press}, address = {W{\"u}rzburg}, isbn = {978-3-95826-226-3}, doi = {10.25972/WUP-978-3-95826-227-0}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-345196}, publisher = {W{\"u}rzburg University Press}, pages = {xii, 344}, year = {2024}, abstract = {The need for mental health support within the Parkinson's disease (PD) community has never been greater, yet many practitioners lack the knowledge or experience to address the unique challenges associated with PD. This book serves as a practical guide for mental health professionals to assist individuals with PD and caregivers through the use of cognitive-behavioral therapy techniques, with the goal of enhancing their well-being and quality of life. The book includes a review of information about PD and mental health, and four structured group programs designed to address issues that are common in people with PD and caregivers: • Coping with stress and illness • Communicating about PD • Emotional expression in PD • Interventions for caregivers The programs presented in this book can be utilized as they are, personalized for individual use, or adapted for research protocols. Additionally, the information can serve as a valuable resource for people with PD and their family members, who can learn about PD and be introduced to evidence-based strategies that can be used conjointly with professionals to improve their experience of living with PD.}, subject = {Parkinson-Krankheit}, language = {en} } @article{HilgerHaegeZedleretal.2023, author = {Hilger, Kirsten and H{\"a}ge, Anne-Sophie and Zedler, Christina and Jost, Michael and Pauli, Paul}, title = {Virtual reality to understand pain-associated approach behaviour: a proof-of-concept study}, series = {Scientific Reports}, volume = {13}, journal = {Scientific Reports}, doi = {10.1038/s41598-023-40789-z}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-357817}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Pain-associated approach and avoidance behaviours are critically involved in the development and maintenance of chronic pain. Empirical research suggests a key role of operant learning mechanisms, and first experimental paradigms were developed for their investigation within a controlled laboratory setting. We introduce a new Virtual Reality paradigm to the study of pain-related behaviour and investigate pain experiences on multiple dimensions. The paradigm evaluates the effects of three-tiered heat-pain stimuli applied contingent versus non-contingent with three types of arm movements in naturalistic virtual sceneries. Behaviour, self-reported pain-related fear, pain expectancy and electrodermal activity were assessed in 42 healthy participants during an acquisition phase (contingent movement-pain association) and a modification phase (no contingent movement-pain association). Pain-associated approach behaviour, as measured by arm movements followed by a severe heat stimulus, quickly decreased in-line with the arm movement-pain contingency. Slower effects were observed in fear of movement-related pain and pain expectancy ratings. During the subsequent modification phase, the removal of the pain contingencies modified all three indices. In both phases, skin conductance responses resemble the pattern observed for approach behaviour, while skin conductance levels equal the pattern observed for the self-ratings. Our findings highlight a fast reduction in approach behaviour in the face of acute pain and inform about accompanying psychological and physiological processes. We discuss strength and limitations of our paradigm for future investigations with the ultimate goal of gaining a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms involved in chronic pain development, maintenance, and its therapy.}, language = {en} } @article{HuesteggePieczykolanKoch2023, author = {Huestegge, Lynn and Pieczykolan, Aleks and Koch, Iring}, title = {A Gestalt account of human behavior is supported by evidence from switching between single and dual actions}, series = {Scientific Reports}, volume = {13}, journal = {Scientific Reports}, doi = {10.1038/s41598-023-47788-0}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-357862}, year = {2023}, abstract = {The question of how behavior is represented in the mind lies at the core of psychology as the science of mind and behavior. While a long-standing research tradition has established two opposing fundamental views of perceptual representation, Structuralism and Gestalt psychology, we test both accounts with respect to action representation: Are multiple actions (characterizing human behavior in general) represented as the sum of their component actions (Structuralist view) or holistically (Gestalt view)? Using a single-/dual-response switch paradigm, we analyzed switches between dual ([A + B]) and single ([A], [B]) responses across different effector systems and revealed comparable performance in partial repetitions and full switches of behavioral requirements (e.g., in [A + B] → [A] vs. [B] → [A], or [A] → [A + B] vs. [B] → [A + B]), but only when the presence of dimensional overlap between responses allows for Gestalt formation. This evidence for a Gestalt view of behavior in our paradigm challenges some fundamental assumptions in current (tacitly Structuralist) action control theories (in particular the idea that all actions are represented compositionally with reference to their components), provides a novel explanatory angle for understanding complex, highly synchronized human behavior (e.g., dance), and delimitates the degree to which complex behavior can be analyzed in terms of its basic components.}, language = {en} } @article{KirschKunde2023, author = {Kirsch, Wladimir and Kunde, Wilfried}, title = {Human perception of spatial frequency varies with stimulus orientation and location in the visual field}, series = {Scientific Reports}, volume = {13}, journal = {Scientific Reports}, doi = {10.1038/s41598-023-44673-8}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-357888}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Neuroanatomical variations across the visual field of human observers go along with corresponding variations of the perceived coarseness of visual stimuli. Here we show that horizontal gratings are perceived as having lower spatial frequency than vertical gratings when occurring along the horizontal meridian of the visual field, whereas gratings occurring along the vertical meridian show the exact opposite effect. This finding indicates a new peculiarity of processes operating along the cardinal axes of the visual field.}, language = {en} } @article{ScheinerSeisKleindienstetal.2023, author = {Scheiner, Christin and Seis, Christian and Kleindienst, Nikolaus and Buerger, Arne}, title = {Psychopathology, protective factors, and COVID-19 among adolescents: a structural equation model}, series = {International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health}, volume = {20}, journal = {International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health}, number = {3}, issn = {1660-4601}, doi = {10.3390/ijerph20032493}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-304475}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in December 2019 and the associated restrictions, mental health in children and adolescents has been increasingly discussed in the media. Negative impacts of the pandemic, including a sharp increase in psychopathology and, consequently, reduced quality of life, appear to have particularly affected children and young people, who may be especially vulnerable to the adverse effects of isolation. Nevertheless, many children and adolescents have managed to cope well with the restrictions, without deterioration of their mental health. The present study therefore explored the links between COVID-19 infection (in oneself or a family member, as well as the death of a family member due to the virus), protective factors such as self-efficacy, resilience, self-esteem, and health-related quality of life, and measures of psychopathology such as depression scores, internalizing/externalizing problems, emotion dysregulation, and victimization. For this purpose, we examined data from 2129 adolescents (mean age = 12.31, SD = 0.67; 51\% male; 6\% born outside of Germany) using a structural equation model. We found medium to high loadings of the manifest variables with the latent variables (COVID-19, protective factors, and psychopathology). Protective factors showed a significant negative correlation with psychopathology. However, COVID-19 had a weak connection with psychopathology in our sample. External pandemic-related factors (e.g., restrictions) and their interaction with existing psychopathology or individual protective factors appear to have a greater influence on young people's mental health than the impact of the virus per se. Sociopolitical efforts should be undertaken to foster prevention and promote individual resilience, especially in adolescence.}, language = {en} } @article{KirschKunde2023, author = {Kirsch, Wladimir and Kunde, Wilfried}, title = {Changes in body perception following virtual object manipulation are accompanied by changes of the internal reference scale}, series = {Scientific Reports}, volume = {13}, journal = {Scientific Reports}, doi = {10.1038/s41598-023-34311-8}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-357876}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Changes in body perception often arise when observers are confronted with related yet discrepant multisensory signals. Some of these effects are interpreted as outcomes of sensory integration of various signals, whereas related biases are ascribed to learning-dependent recalibration of coding individual signals. The present study explored whether the same sensorimotor experience entails changes in body perception that are indicative of multisensory integration and those that indicate recalibration. Participants enclosed visual objects by a pair of visual cursors controlled by finger movements. Then either they judged their perceived finger posture (indicating multisensory integration) or they produced a certain finger posture (indicating recalibration). An experimental variation of the size of the visual object resulted in systematic and opposite biases of the perceived and produced finger distances. This pattern of results is consistent with the assumption that multisensory integration and recalibration had a common origin in the task we used.}, language = {en} } @article{LawitschkaBrunmairBaueretal.2021, author = {Lawitschka, Anita and Brunmair, Matthias and Bauer, Dorothea and Zubarovskaya, Natalia and Felder-Puig, Rosemarie and Strahm, Brigitte and Bader, Peter and Strauss, Gabriele and Albert, Michael and Luettichau, Irene von and Greinix, Hildegard and Wolff, Daniel and Peters, Christina}, title = {Psychometric properties of the Activities Scale for Kids-performance after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in adolescents and children}, series = {Wiener klinische Wochenschrift}, volume = {133}, journal = {Wiener klinische Wochenschrift}, number = {1-2}, doi = {10.1007/s00508-020-01641-w}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-281100}, pages = {41-51}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Background The psychometric properties of an instrument, the Activity Scale for Kids-performance (ASKp), were assessed which was proposed to capture physical functioning after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Additionally, this multicenter observational prospective study investigated the influence of clinical correlates focusing on chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD). Methods Patient-reported ASKp, clinician-reported Karnofsky/Lansky status (KPS/PSS), patient characteristics and cGVHD details were assessed of 55 patients with a median age of 12 years at baseline after day +100 post-HSCT and every 3 months during the next 18 months. The psychometric properties were evaluated and ASKp and KPS/PSS status was compared using ANOVAS and multiple regression models. Results The German version of the ASKp showed good psychometric properties except for ceiling effects. Discrimination ability of the ASKp was good regarding the need for devices but failed to predict cGVHD patients. Both the ASKp and the KPS/PSS were associated with patients after adoptive cell therapy being in need for devices, suffering from overlap cGVHD and from steroid side effects but not with patients' age and gender. In contrast to the KPS/PSS the ASKp only showed significant differences after merging moderate and severe cGHVD patients when comparing them to No-cGVHD (F = 4.050; p = 0.049), being outperformed by the KPS/PSS (F = 20.082; p < 0.001). Conclusion The ASKp showed no clear advantages compared to KPS/PSS even though economical and patients' effort was higher. Further application range may be limited through ceiling effects. Both should be taken into consideration. Therefore, the results may not support the usage of ASKp after HSCT and rather suggest KPS/PSS, both patient and clinician reported.}, language = {en} } @article{KuhnScharfenortSchuemannetal.2016, author = {Kuhn, Manuel and Scharfenort, Robert and Sch{\"u}mann, Dirk and Schiele, Miriam A. and M{\"u}nsterk{\"o}tter, Anna L. and Deckert, J{\"u}rgen and Domschke, Katharina and Haaker, Jan and Kalisch, Raffael and Pauli, Paul and Reif, Andreas and Romanos, Marcel and Zwanzger, Peter and Lonsdorf, Tina B.}, title = {Mismatch or allostatic load? Timing of life adversity differentially shapes gray matter volume and anxious temperament}, series = {Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience}, volume = {11}, journal = {Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience}, number = {4}, doi = {10.1093/scan/nsv137}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-189645}, pages = {537-547}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Traditionally, adversity was defined as the accumulation of environmental events (allostatic load). Recently however, a mismatch between the early and the later (adult) environment (mismatch) has been hypothesized to be critical for disease development, a hypothesis that has not yet been tested explicitly in humans. We explored the impact of timing of life adversity (childhood and past year) on anxiety and depression levels (N = 833) and brain morphology (N = 129). Both remote (childhood) and proximal (recent) adversities were differentially mirrored in morphometric changes in areas critically involved in emotional processing (i.e. amygdala/hippocampus, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, respectively). The effect of adversity on affect acted in an additive way with no evidence for interactions (mismatch). Structural equation modeling demonstrated a direct effect of adversity on morphometric estimates and anxiety/depression without evidence of brain morphology functioning as a mediator. Our results highlight that adversity manifests as pronounced changes in brain morphometric and affective temperament even though these seem to represent distinct mechanistic pathways. A major goal of future studies should be to define critical time periods for the impact of adversity and strategies for intervening to prevent or reverse the effects of adverse childhood life experiences.}, language = {en} } @article{HeinGamerGalletal.2021, author = {Hein, Grit and Gamer, Matthias and Gall, Dominik and Gr{\"u}ndahl, Marthe and Domschke, Katharina and Andreatta, Marta and Wieser, Matthias J. and Pauli, Paul}, title = {Social cognitive factors outweigh negative emotionality in predicting COVID-19 related safety behaviors}, series = {Preventive Medicine Reports}, volume = {24}, journal = {Preventive Medicine Reports}, doi = {10.1016/j.pmedr.2021.101559}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-265008}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Emotion-motivation models propose that behaviors, including health behaviors, should be predicted by the same variables that also predict negative affect since emotional reactions should induce a motivation to avoid threatening situations. In contrast, social cognitive models propose that safety behaviors are predicted by a different set of variables that mainly reflect cognitive and socio-structural aspects. Here, we directly tested these opposing hypotheses in young adults (N = 4134) in the context of COVID-19-related safety behaviors to prevent infections. In each participant, we collected measures of negative affect as well as cognitive and socio-structural variables during the lockdown in the first infection wave in Germany. We found a negative effect of the pandemic on emotional responses. However, this was not the main predictor for young adults' willingness to comply with COVID-19-related safety measures. Instead, individual differences in compliance were mainly predicted by cognitive and socio-structural variables. These results were confirmed in an independent data set. This study shows that individuals scoring high on negative affect during the pandemic are not necessarily more likely to comply with safety regulations. Instead, political measures should focus on cognitive interventions and the societal relevance of the health issue. These findings provide important insights into the basis of health-related concerns and feelings as well as behavioral adaptations.}, language = {en} } @article{StegmannAndreattaPaulietal.2021, author = {Stegmann, Yannik and Andreatta, Marta and Pauli, Paul and Wieser, Matthias J.}, title = {Associative learning shapes visual discrimination in a web-based classical conditioning task}, series = {Scientific Reports}, volume = {11}, journal = {Scientific Reports}, number = {1}, doi = {10.1038/s41598-021-95200-6}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-260480}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Threat detection plays a vital role in adapting behavior to changing environments. A fundamental function to improve threat detection is learning to differentiate between stimuli predicting danger and safety. Accordingly, aversive learning should lead to enhanced sensory discrimination of danger and safety cues. However, studies investigating the psychophysics of visual and auditory perception after aversive learning show divergent findings, and both enhanced and impaired discrimination after aversive learning have been reported. Therefore, the aim of this web-based study is to examine the impact of aversive learning on a continuous measure of visual discrimination. To this end, 205 participants underwent a differential fear conditioning paradigm before and after completing a visual discrimination task using differently oriented grating stimuli. Participants saw either unpleasant or neutral pictures as unconditioned stimuli (US). Results demonstrated sharpened visual discrimination for the US-associated stimulus (CS+), but not for the unpaired conditioned stimuli (CS-). Importantly, this finding was irrespective of the US's valence. These findings suggest that associative learning results in increased stimulus salience, which facilitates perceptual discrimination in order to prioritize attentional deployment.}, language = {en} } @article{WeissPaeleckeHewig2021, author = {Weiß, Martin and Paelecke, Marko and Hewig, Johannes}, title = {In Your Face(t) — Personality Traits Interact With Prototypical Personality Faces in Economic Decision Making}, series = {Frontiers in Psychology}, volume = {12}, journal = {Frontiers in Psychology}, issn = {1664-1078}, doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2021.652506}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-237051}, year = {2021}, abstract = {In everyday life, assumptions about our peers' as well as our own personality shape social interactions. We investigated whether self-rated personality and inferences drawn from partners' faces influence economic decisions. Participants (N = 285) played the trust game in the role of the trustor as well as the ultimatum game in the role of the proposer and interacted with trustees and receivers represented by prototypical personality faces. Participants also evaluated both their own traits and the personality of the faces. In the trust game, trustees represented by faces rated higher on agreeableness yielded higher transferred amounts. This effect was more pronounced for trustors low on dispositional trust, whereas trustors high on dispositional trust did not relate their decisions to the faces. Trustees represented by faces rated higher on conscientiousness yielded higher transferred amounts only for trustors high on dispositional anxiety. In the ultimatum game, receivers represented by faces rated higher on conscientiousness yielded lower offers only for proposers high on dispositional assertiveness. These results extend previous findings on the inferences drawn from facial features and the influence of personality on decision making. They highlight the importance of considering the personality of both interaction partner, as well as potential interactions of players' traits.}, language = {en} } @article{EderMitschkeGollwitzer2020, author = {Eder, Andreas B. and Mitschke, Vanessa and Gollwitzer, Mario}, title = {What stops revenge taking? Effects of observed emotional reactions on revenge seeking}, series = {Aggressive Behavior}, volume = {46}, journal = {Aggressive Behavior}, number = {4}, doi = {10.1002/ab.21890}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-214686}, pages = {305 -- 316}, year = {2020}, abstract = {What reaction stops revenge taking? Four experiments (total N = 191) examined this question where the victim of an interpersonal transgression could observe the offender's reaction (anger, sadness, pain, or calm) to a retributive noise punishment. We compared the punishment intensity selected by the participant before and after seeing the offender's reaction. Seeing the opponent in pain reduced subsequent punishment most strongly, while displays of sadness and verbal indications of suffering had no appeasing effect. Expression of anger about a retributive punishment did not increase revenge seeking relative to a calm reaction, even when the anger response was disambiguated as being angry with the punisher. It is concluded that the expression of pain is the most effective emotional display for the reduction of retaliatory aggression. The findings are discussed in light of recent research on reactive aggression and retributive justice.}, language = {en} } @article{HaspertWieserPaulietal.2020, author = {Haspert, Valentina and Wieser, Matthias J. and Pauli, Paul and Reicherts, Philipp}, title = {Acceptance-Based Emotion Regulation Reduces Subjective and Physiological Pain Responses}, series = {Frontiers in Psychology}, volume = {11}, journal = {Frontiers in Psychology}, issn = {1664-1078}, doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01514}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-207220}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Acceptance-based regulation of pain, which focuses on the allowing of pain and pain related thoughts and emotions, was found to modulate pain. However, results so far are inconsistent regarding different pain modalities and indices. Moreover, studies so far often lack a suitable control condition, focus on behavioral pain measures rather than physiological correlates, and often use between-subject designs, which potentially impede the evaluation of the effectiveness of the strategies. Therefore, we investigated whether acceptance-based strategies can reduce subjective and physiological markers of acute pain in comparison to a control condition in a within-subject design. To this end, participants (N = 30) completed 24 trials comprising 10 s of heat pain stimulation. Each trial started with a cue instructing participants to welcome and experience pain (acceptance trials) or to react to the pain as it is without employing any regulation strategies (control trials). In addition to pain intensity and unpleasantness ratings, heart rate (HR) and skin conductance (SC) were recorded. Results showed significantly decreased pain intensity and unpleasantness ratings for acceptance compared to control trials. Additionally, HR was significantly lower during acceptance compared to control trials, whereas SC revealed no significant differences. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of acceptance-based strategies in reducing subjective and physiological pain responses relative to a control condition, even after short training. Therefore, the systematic investigation of acceptance in different pain modalities in healthy and chronic pain patients is warranted.}, language = {en} } @article{KaethnerBaderPauli2019, author = {K{\"a}thner, Ivo and Bader, Thomas and Pauli, Paul}, title = {Heat pain modulation with virtual water during a virtual hand illusion}, series = {Scientific Reports}, volume = {9}, journal = {Scientific Reports}, doi = {10.1038/s41598-019-55407-0}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-202221}, pages = {19137}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Immersive virtual reality is a powerful method to modify the environment and thereby influence experience. The present study used a virtual hand illusion and context manipulation in immersive virtual reality to examine top-down modulation of pain. Participants received painful heat stimuli on their forearm and placed an embodied virtual hand (co-located with their real one) under a virtual water tap, which dispensed virtual water under different experimental conditions. We aimed to induce a temperature illusion by a red, blue or white light suggesting warm, cold or no virtual water. In addition, the sense of agency was manipulated by allowing participants to have high or low control over the virtual hand's movements. Most participants experienced a thermal sensation in response to the virtual water and associated the blue and red light with cool/cold or warm/hot temperatures, respectively. Importantly, the blue light condition reduced and the red light condition increased pain intensity and unpleasantness, both compared to the control condition. The control manipulation influenced the sense of agency, but did not influence pain ratings. The large effects revealed in our study suggest that context effects within an embodied setting in an immersive virtual environment should be considered within VR based pain therapy.}, language = {en} } @article{WiemerRaunerStegmannetal.2021, author = {Wiemer, Julian and Rauner, Milena M. and Stegmann, Yannik and Pauli, Paul}, title = {Reappraising fear: is up-regulation more efficient than down-regulation?}, series = {Motivation and Emotion}, volume = {45}, journal = {Motivation and Emotion}, number = {2}, issn = {1573-6644}, doi = {10.1007/s11031-021-09871-9}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-269187}, pages = {221-234}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Catastrophizing thoughts may contribute to the development of anxiety, but functional emotion regulation may help to improve treatment. No study so far directly compared up- and down-regulation of fear by cognitive reappraisal. Here, healthy individuals took part in a cued fear experiment, in which multiple pictures of faces were paired twice with an unpleasant scream or presented as safety stimuli. Participants (N = 47) were asked (within-subjects) to down-regulate, to up-regulate and to maintain their natural emotional response. Valence and arousal ratings indicated successful up- and down-regulation of the emotional experience, while heart rate and pupil dilation increased during up-regulation, but showed no reduction in down-regulation. State and trait anxiety correlated with evaluations of safety but not threat stimuli, which supports the role of deficient safety learning in anxiety. Reappraisal did not modulate this effect. In conclusion, this study reveals evidence for up-regulation effects in fear, which might be even more efficient than down-regulation on a physiological level and highlights the importance of catastrophizing thoughts for the maintenance of fear and anxiety.}, language = {en} } @article{AcqualagnaBotrelVidaurreetal.2016, author = {Acqualagna, Laura and Botrel, Loic and Vidaurre, Carmen and K{\"u}bler, Andrea and Blankertz, Benjamin}, title = {Large-Scale Assessment of a Fully Automatic Co-Adaptive Motor Imagery-Based Brain Computer Interface}, series = {PLoS ONE}, volume = {11}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, number = {2}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0148886}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-167230}, pages = {e0148886}, year = {2016}, abstract = {In the last years Brain Computer Interface (BCI) technology has benefited from the development of sophisticated machine leaning methods that let the user operate the BCI after a few trials of calibration. One remarkable example is the recent development of co-adaptive techniques that proved to extend the use of BCIs also to people not able to achieve successful control with the standard BCI procedure. Especially for BCIs based on the modulation of the Sensorimotor Rhythm (SMR) these improvements are essential, since a not negligible percentage of users is unable to operate SMR-BCIs efficiently. In this study we evaluated for the first time a fully automatic co-adaptive BCI system on a large scale. A pool of 168 participants naive to BCIs operated the co-adaptive SMR-BCI in one single session. Different psychological interventions were performed prior the BCI session in order to investigate how motor coordination training and relaxation could influence BCI performance. A neurophysiological indicator based on the Power Spectral Density (PSD) was extracted by the recording of few minutes of resting state brain activity and tested as predictor of BCI performances. Results show that high accuracies in operating the BCI could be reached by the majority of the participants before the end of the session. BCI performances could be significantly predicted by the neurophysiological indicator, consolidating the validity of the model previously developed. Anyway, we still found about 22\% of users with performance significantly lower than the threshold of efficient BCI control at the end of the session. Being the inter-subject variability still the major problem of BCI technology, we pointed out crucial issues for those who did not achieve sufficient control. Finally, we propose valid developments to move a step forward to the applicability of the promising co-adaptive methods.}, language = {en} } @article{MatuzBirbaumerHautzingeretal., author = {Matuz, Tamara and Birbaumer, Niels and Hautzinger, Martin and K{\"u}bler, Andrea}, title = {Psychosocial adjustment to ALS: a longitudinal study}, series = {Frontiers in Psychology}, volume = {6}, journal = {Frontiers in Psychology}, number = {1197}, issn = {1664-1078}, doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01197}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-190208}, abstract = {For the current study the Lazarian stress-coping theory and the appendant model of psychosocial adjustment to chronic illness and disabilities (Pakenham, 1999) has shaped the foundation for identifying determinants of adjustment to ALS. We aimed to investigate the evolution of psychosocial adjustment to ALS and to determine its long-term predictors. A longitudinal study design with four measurement time points was therefore, used to assess patients' quality of life, depression, and stress-coping model related aspects, such as illness characteristics, social support, cognitive appraisals, and coping strategies during a period of 2 years. Regression analyses revealed that 55\% of the variance of severity of depressive symptoms and 47\% of the variance in quality of life at T2 was accounted for by all the T1 predictor variables taken together. On the level of individual contributions, protective buffering, and appraisal of own coping potential accounted for a significant percentage in the variance in severity of depressive symptoms, whereas problem management coping strategies explained variance in quality of life scores. Illness characteristics at T2 did not explain any variance of both adjustment outcomes. Overall, the pattern of the longitudinal results indicated stable depressive symptoms and quality of life indices reflecting a successful adjustment to the disease across four measurement time points during a period of about two years. Empirical evidence is provided for the predictive value of social support, cognitive appraisals, and coping strategies, but not illness parameters such as severity and duration for adaptation to ALS. The current study contributes to a better conceptualization of adjustment, allowing us to provide evidence-based support beyond medical and physical intervention for people with ALS.}, language = {en} } @article{SteinbornHuestegge2017, author = {Steinborn, Michael B. and Huestegge, Lynn}, title = {Phone conversation while processing information: chronometric analysis of load effects in everyday-media multitasking}, series = {Frontiers in Psychology}, volume = {8}, journal = {Frontiers in Psychology}, number = {896}, doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00896}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-158253}, year = {2017}, abstract = {This is a pilot study that examined the effect of cell-phone conversation on cognition using a continuous multitasking paradigm. Current theorizing argues that phone conversation affects behavior (e.g., driving) by interfering at a level of cognitive processes (not peripheral activity) and by implying an attentional-failure account. Within the framework of an intermittent spare-utilized capacity threading model, we examined the effect of aspects of (secondary-task) phone conversation on (primary-task) continuous arithmetic performance, asking whether phone use makes components of automatic and controlled information-processing (i.e., easy vs. hard mental arithmetic) run more slowly, or alternatively, makes processing run less reliably albeit with the same processing speed. The results can be summarized as follows: While neither expecting a text message nor expecting an impending phone call had any detrimental effects on performance, active phone conversation was clearly detrimental to primary-task performance. Crucially, the decrement imposed by secondary-task (conversation) was not due to a constant slowdown but is better be characterized by an occasional breakdown of information processing, which differentially affected automatic and controlled components of primary-task processing. In conclusion, these findings support the notion that phone conversation makes individuals not constantly slower but more vulnerable to commit attention failure, and in this way, hampers stability of (primary-task) information processing.}, language = {en} } @article{MadanBayerGameretal.2018, author = {Madan, Christopher R. and Bayer, Janine and Gamer, Matthias and Lonsdorf, Tina B. and Sommer, Tobias}, title = {Visual Complexity and Affect: Ratings Reflect More Than Meets the Eye}, series = {Frontiers in Psychology}, volume = {8}, journal = {Frontiers in Psychology}, number = {2368}, issn = {1664-1078}, doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02368}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-190015}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Pictorial stimuli can vary on many dimensions, several aspects of which are captured by the term 'visual complexity.' Visual complexity can be described as, "a picture of a few objects, colors, or structures would be less complex than a very colorful picture of many objects that is composed of several components." Prior studies have reported a relationship between affect and visual complexity, where complex pictures are rated as more pleasant and arousing. However, a relationship in the opposite direction, an effect of affect on visual complexity, is also possible; emotional arousal and valence are known to influence selective attention and visual processing. In a series of experiments, we found that ratings of visual complexity correlated with affective ratings, and independently also with computational measures of visual complexity. These computational measures did not correlate with affect, suggesting that complexity ratings are separately related to distinct factors. We investigated the relationship between affect and ratings of visual complexity, finding an 'arousal-complexity bias' to be a robust phenomenon. Moreover, we found this bias could be attenuated when explicitly indicated but did not correlate with inter-individual difference measures of affective processing, and was largely unrelated to cognitive and eyetracking measures. Taken together, the arousal-complexity bias seems to be caused by a relationship between arousal and visual processing as it has been described for the greater vividness of arousing pictures. The described arousal-complexity bias is also of relevance from an experimental perspective because visual complexity is often considered a variable to control for when using pictorial stimuli.}, language = {en} } @article{WolffWeikampBatinic2018, author = {Wolff, Hans-Georg and Weikamp, Julia G. and Batinic, Bernad}, title = {Implicit Motives as Determinants of Networking Behaviors}, series = {Frontiers in Psychology}, volume = {9}, journal = {Frontiers in Psychology}, number = {411}, issn = {1664-1078}, doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00411}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-189954}, year = {2018}, abstract = {In today's world of work, networking behaviors are an important and viable strategy to enhance success in work and career domains. Concerning personality as an antecedent of networking behaviors, prior studies have exclusively relied on trait perspectives that focus on how people feel, think, and act. Adopting a motivational perspective on personality, we enlarge this focus and argue that beyond traits predominantly tapping social content, motives shed further light on instrumental aspects of networking - or why people network. We use McClelland's implicit motives framework of need for power (nPow), need for achievement (nAch), and need for affiliation (nAff) to examine instrumental determinants of networking. Using a facet theoretical approach to networking behaviors, we predict differential relations of these three motives with facets of (1) internal vs. external networking and (2) building, maintaining, and using contacts. We conducted an online study, in which we temporally separate measures (N = 539 employed individuals) to examine our hypotheses. Using multivariate latent regression, we show that nAch is related to networking in general. In line with theoretical differences between networking facets, we find that nAff is positively related to building contacts, whereas nPow is positively related to using internal contacts. In sum, this study shows that networking is not only driven by social factors (i.e., nAff), but instead the achievement motive is the most important driver of networking behaviors.}, language = {en} }