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Are there emotional reactions towards social robots? Could you love a robot? Or, put the other way round: Could you mistreat a robot, tear it apart and sell it? Media reports people honoring military robots with funerals, mourning the “death” of a robotic dog, and granting the humanoid robot Sophia citizenship. But how profound are these reactions? Three experiments take a closer look on emotional reactions towards social robots by investigating the subjective experience of people as well as the motor expressive level. Contexts of varying degrees of Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) sketch a nuanced picture of emotions towards social robots that encompass conscious as well as unconscious reactions. The findings advance the understanding of affective experiences in HRI. It also turns the initial question into: Can emotional reactions towards social robots even be avoided?
Action planning can be construed as the temporary binding of features of perceptual action effects. While previous research demonstrated binding for task-relevant, body-related effect features, the role of task-irrelevant or environment-related effect features in action planning is less clear. Here, we studied whether task-relevance or body-relatedness determines feature binding in action planning. Participants planned an action A, but before executing it initiated an intermediate action B. Each action relied on a body-related effect feature (index vs. middle finger movement) and an environment-related effect feature (cursor movement towards vs. away from a reference object). In Experiments 1 and 2, both effects were task-relevant. Performance in action B suffered from partial feature overlap with action A compared to full feature repetition or alternation, which is in line with binding of both features while planning action A. Importantly, this cost disappeared when all features were available but only body-related features were task-relevant (Experiment 3). When only the environment-related effect of action A was known in advance, action B benefitted when it aimed at the same (vs. a different) environment-related effect (Experiment 4). Consequently, the present results support the idea that task relevance determines whether binding of body-related and environment-related effect features takes place while the pre-activation of environment-related features without binding them primes feature-overlapping actions.
Movements of a tool typically diverge from the movements of the hand manipulating that tool, such as when operating a pivotal lever where tool and hand move in opposite directions. Previous studies suggest that humans are often unaware of the position or movements of their effective body part (mostly the hand) in such situations. It has been suggested that this might be due to a "haptic neglect" of bodily sensations to decrease the interference of representations of body and tool movements. However, in principle this interference could also be decreased by neglecting sensations regarding the tool and focusing instead on body movements. While in most tool use situations the tool-related action effects are task-relevant and thus suppression of body-related rather than tool-related sensations is more beneficial for successful goal achievement, we manipulated this task-relevance in a controlled experiment. The results showed that visual, tool-related effect representations can be suppressed just as proprioceptive, body-related ones in situations where effect representations interfere, given that task-relevance of body-related effects is increased relative to tool-related ones.
It's costly punishment, not altruistic: Low midfrontal theta and state anger predict punishment
(2020)
Punishment in economic games has been interpreted as “altruistic.” However, it was shown that punishment is related to trait anger instead of trait altruism in a third‐party dictator game if compensation is also available. Here, we investigated the influence of state anger on punishment and compensation in the third‐party dictator game. Therefore, we used movie sequences for emotional priming, including the target states anger, happy, and neutral. We measured the Feedback‐Related Negativity (FRN) and midfrontal theta band activation, to investigate an electro‐cortical correlate of the processing of fair and unfair offers. Also, we assessed single‐trial FRN and midfrontal theta band activation as a predictor for punishment and compensation. We found that punishment was linked to state anger. Midfrontal theta band activation, which has previously been linked to altruistic acts and cognitive control, predicted less punishment. Additionally, trait anger led to enhanced FRN for unfair offers. This led to the interpretation that the FRN depicts the evaluation of fairness, while midfrontal theta band activation captures an aspect of cognitive control and altruistic motivation. We conclude that we need to redefine “altruistic punishment” into “costly punishment,” as no direct link of altruism and punishment is given. Additionally, midfrontal theta band activation complements the FRN and offers additional insights into complex responses and decision processes, especially as a single trial predictor.
We investigated the influence of social status on behavior in a modified dictator game (DG). Since the DG contains an inherent dominance gradient, we examined the relationship between dictator decisions and recipient status, which was operationalized by three social identities and an artificial intelligence (AI). Additionally, we examined the predictive value of social dominance orientation (SDO) on the behavior of dictators toward the different social and non-social hierarchical recipients. A multilevel model analysis showed that recipients with the same status as the dictator benefited the most and the artificial intelligence the least. Furthermore, SDO, regardless of social status, predicted behavior toward recipients in such a way that higher dominance was associated with lower dictator offers. In summary, participants treated other persons of higher and lower status equally, those of equal status better and, above all, an algorithm worst. The large proportion of female participants and the limited variance of SDO should be taken into account with regard to the results of individual differences in SDO.
Objective
Most patients with bipolar disorders (BD) exhibit prodromal symptoms before a first (hypo)manic episode. Patients with clinically significant symptoms fulfilling at‐risk criteria for serious mental illness (SMI) require effective and safe treatment. Cognitive‐behavioral psychotherapy (CBT) has shown promising results in early stages of BD and in patients at high risk for psychosis. We aimed to investigate whether group CBT can improve symptoms and functional deficits in young patients at risk for SMI presenting with subthreshold bipolar symptoms.
Method
In a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial, patients at clinical risk for SMI presenting with subthreshold bipolar symptoms aged 15‐30 years were randomized to 14 weeks of at‐risk for BD‐specific group CBT or unstructured group meetings. Primary efficacy endpoints were differences in affective symptomatology and psychosocial functioning at 14 weeks. At‐risk status was defined as a combination of subthreshold bipolar symptomatology, reduction of psychosocial functioning and a family history for (schizo)affective disorders. A prespecified interim analysis was conducted at 75% of the targeted sample.
Results
Of 128 screened participants, 75 were randomized to group CBT (n = 38, completers = 65.8%) vs unstructured group meetings (n = 37, completers = 78.4%). Affective symptomatology and psychosocial functioning improved significantly at week 14 (P < .001) and during 6 months (P < .001) in both groups, without significant between‐group differences. Findings are limited by the interim character of the analysis, the use of not fully validated early detection interviews, a newly adapted intervention manual, and the substantial drop‐outs.
Conclusions
Results suggest that young patients at‐risk for SMI presenting with subthreshold bipolar symptoms benefit from early group sessions. The degree of specificity and psychotherapeutic interaction needed requires clarification.
Purpose of Review
This article provides an overview of current findings on Theory of Mind (ToM) in human children and adults and highlights the relationship between task specifications and their outcome in socio-cognitive research.
Recent Findings
ToM, the capacity to reason about and infer others’ mental states, develops progressively throughout childhood—the exact time course is still a matter of debate. Neuroimaging studies indicate the involvement of a widespread neuronal network during mentalizing, suggesting that ToM is a multifaceted process. Accordingly, the tasks and trainings that currently exist to investigate and enhance ToM are heterogeneous, and the outcomes largely depend on the paradigm that was used.
Summary
We argue for the implementation of multiple-task batteries in the assessment of socio-cognitive abilities. Decisions for a particular paradigm need to be carefully considered and justified. We want to emphasize the importance of targeted research on the relationship between task specifications and outcomes.
Honest actions predominate human behavior. From time to time, this general preference must yield to dishonest actions, which require an effortful process of overcoming initial honest response activation. This thesis presents three experimental series to elucidate this tug-of-war between honest and dishonest response tendencies in overtly committed instances of lies, thereby joining recent efforts to move from a sheer phenomenological perspective on dishonest responding as being more difficult than honest responding to a precise description of the underlying cognitive processes. The consideration of cognitive theories, empirical evidence, and paradigms from different research fields – dishonesty, cognitive control and sensorimotor stage models of information processing – lay the groundwork for the research questions and methodological approach of this thesis.
The experiments pinpoint the underlying conflict of dishonest responding in the central, capacity-limited stage of information processing (Experiments 1 to 4), but they also demonstrate that cognitive control processes (Experiments 5 to 7) and the internalization of false alibis (Experiments 8 to 11) can reduce or even completely eliminate this conflict. The data reveals great flexibility at the cognitive basis of dishonest responding: On the one hand, dishonest responding appears to rely heavily on capacity-limited processes of response selection to overcome honest response tendencies alongside up- and downstream consequences of response activation and monitoring. On the other hand, agents have powerful tools to mitigate these effortful processes through control adaptation and false alibis. These results support and expand current theorizing of the cognitive underpinnings of dishonest responding. Furthermore, they are alerting from an applied perspective on the detection of lies, especially when considering the flexibility of even basic cognitive processes in the face of false alibis. A promising way to move forward from here would be a fine-grained discrimination of response activation, passive decay and active inhibition of honest representations in dishonest responding and the assessment of the adaptiveness of these processes.
The present dissertation aims to shed light on different mechanisms of socio-emotional feedback in social decision-making situations. The objective is to evaluate emotional facial expressions as feedback stimuli, i.e., responses of interaction partners to certain social decisions. In addition to human faces, artificial emojis are also examined due to their relevance for modern digital communication. Previous research on the influence of emotional feedback suggests that a person's behavior can be effectively reinforced by rewarding stimuli. In the context of this dissertation, the differences in the feedback processing of human photographs and emojis, but also the evaluation of socially expected versus socially unexpected feedback were examined in detail in four studies. In addition to behavioral data, we used the electroencephalogram (EEG) in all studies to investigate neural correlates of social decision-making and emotional feedback.
As the central paradigm, all studies were based on a modified ultimatum game. The game is structured as follows: there is a so-called proposer who holds a specific amount of money (e.g., 10 cents) and offers the responder a certain amount (e.g., 3 cents). The responder then decides whether to accept or reject the offer. In the version of the ultimatum game presented here, different types of proposers are introduced. After the participants have accepted or rejected in the role of the responder, the different proposers react to the participant’s decision with specific emotional facial expressions. Different feedback patterns are used for the individual experiments conducted in the course of this dissertation.
In the first study, we investigated the influence of emotional feedback on decision-making in the modified version of the ultimatum game. We were able to show that a proposer who responds to the acceptance of an offer with a smiling face achieves more accepted offers overall than a control proposer who responds to both accepted and rejected offers with a neutral facial expression. Consequently, the smile served as a positive reinforcement. Similarly, a sad expression in response to a rejected offer also resulted in higher acceptance rates as compared to the control identity, which could be considered an expression of compassion for that proposer. On a neuronal level, we could show that there are differences between simply looking at negative emotional stimuli (i.e., sad and angry faces) and their appearance as feedback stimuli after rejected offers in the modified ultimatum game. The so-called feedback-related negativity was reduced (i.e., more positive) when negative emotions appeared as feedback from the proposers. We argued that these findings might show that the participants wanted to punish the proposers by rejecting an offer for its unfairness and therefore the negative feedback met their expectations. The altered processing of negative emotional facial expressions in the ultimatum game could therefore indicate that the punishment is interpreted as successful. This includes the expectation that the interaction partner will change his behavior in the future and eventually make fairer offers.
In the second study we wanted to show that smiling and sad emojis as feedback stimuli in the modified ultimatum game can also lead to increased acceptance rates. Contrary to our assumptions, this effect could not be observed. At the neural level as well, the findings did not correspond to our assumptions and differed strongly from those of the first study. One finding, however, was that the neural P3 component showed how the use of emojis as feedback stimuli particularly characterizes certain types of proposers. This is supported by the fact that the P3 is increased for the proposer who rewards an acceptance with a smile as well as for the proposer who reacts to rejection with a sad emoji compared to the neutral control proposer.
The third study examined the discrepancy between the findings of the first and second study. Accordingly, both humans and emojis representing the different proposers were presented in the ultimatum game. In addition, emojis were selected that showed a higher similarity to known emojis from common messenger services compared to the second study. We were able to replicate that the proposers in the ultimatum game, who reward an acceptance of the offer with a smile, led to an increased acceptance rate compared to the neutral control proposers. This difference is independent of whether the proposers are represented by emojis or human faces. With regard to the neural correlates, we were able to demonstrate that emojis and human faces differ strongly in their neural processing. Emojis showed stronger activation than human faces in the face-processing N170 component, the feedback-related negativity and the P3 component. We concluded that the results of the N170 and feedback-related negativity could indicate a signal for missing social information of emojis compared to faces. The increased P3 amplitude for emojis might imply that emojis appear unexpectedly as reward stimuli in a social decision task compared to human faces.
The last study of this project dealt with socially unexpected feedback. In comparison to the first three studies, new proposer identities were implemented. In particular, the focus was on a proposer who reacted to the rejection of an offer unexpectedly with a smile and to the acceptance with a neutral facial expression. According to the results, participants approach this unexpected smile through increased rejection, although it is accompanied by financial loss. In addition, as reported in studies one and three, we were able to show that proposers who respond to the acceptance of an offer with a smiling face and thus meet the expectations of the participants have higher offer acceptance rates than the control proposer. At the neuronal level, especially the feedback from the socially unexpected proposer led to an increased P3 amplitude, which indicates that smiling after rejection is attributed a special subjective importance.
The experiments provide new insights into the social influence through emotional feedback and the processing of relevant social cues. Due to the conceptual similarity of the studies, it was possible to differentiate between stable findings and potentially stimulus-dependent deviations, thus creating a well-founded contribution to the current research. Therefore, the novel paradigm presented here, and the knowledge gained from it could also play an important role in the future for clinical questions dealing with limited social competencies.
Multitasking, defined as performing more than one task at a time, typically yields performance decrements, for instance, in processing speed and accuracy. These performance costs are often distributed asymmetrically among the involved tasks. Under suitable conditions, this can be interpreted as a marker for prioritization of one task – the one that suffers less – over the other. One source of such task prioritization is based on the use of different effector systems (e.g., oculomotor system, vocal tract, limbs) and their characteristics. The present work explores such effector system-based task prioritization by examining to which extent associated effector systems determine which task is processed with higher priority in multitasking situations. Thus, three different paradigms are used, namely the simultaneous (stimulus) onset paradigm, the psychological refractory period (PRP) paradigm, and the task switching paradigm. These paradigms invoke situations in which two (in the present studies basic spatial decision) tasks are a) initiated at exactly the same time, b) initiated with a short varying temporal distance (but still temporally overlapping), or c) in which tasks alternate randomly (without temporal overlap). The results allow for three major conclusions: 1. The assumption of effector system-based task prioritization according to an ordinal pattern (oculomotor > pedal > vocal > manual, indicating decreasing prioritization) is supported by the observed data in the simultaneous onset paradigm. This data pattern cannot be explained by a rigid “first come, first served” task scheduling principle. 2. The data from the PRP paradigm confirmed the assumption of vocal-over-manual prioritization and showed that classic PRP effects (as a marker for task order-based prioritization) can be modulated by effector system characteristics. 3. The mere cognitive representation of task sets (that must be held active to switch between them) differing in effector systems without an actual temporal overlap in task processing, however, is not sufficient to elicit the same effector system prioritization phenomena observed for overlapping tasks. In summary, the insights obtained by the present work support the assumptions of parallel central task processing and resource sharing among tasks, as opposed to exclusively serial processing of central processing stages. Moreover, they indicate that effector systems are a crucial factor in multitasking and suggest an integration of corresponding weighting parameters in existing dual-task control frameworks.
Tactile stimulation is less frequently used than visual for brain-computer interface (BCI) control, partly because of limitations in speed and accuracy. Non-visual BCI paradigms, however, may be required for patients who struggle with vision dependent BCIs because of a loss of gaze control. With the present study, we attempted to replicate earlier results by Herweg et al. (2016), with several minor adjustments and a focus on training effects and usability. We invited 16 healthy participants and trained them with a 4-class tactile P300-based BCI in five sessions. Their main task was to navigate a virtual wheelchair through a 3D apartment using the BCI. We found significant training effects on information transfer rate (ITR), which increased from a mean of 3.10–9.50 bits/min. Further, both online and offline accuracies significantly increased with training from 65% to 86% and 70% to 95%, respectively. We found only a descriptive increase of P300 amplitudes at Fz and Cz with training. Furthermore, we report subjective data from questionnaires, which indicated a relatively high workload and moderate to high satisfaction. Although our participants have not achieved the same high performance as in the Herweg et al. (2016) study, we provide evidence for training effects on performance with a tactile BCI and confirm the feasibility of the paradigm.
Sensory input as well as cognitive factors can drive the modulation of blinking. Our aim was to dissociate sensory driven bottom-up from cognitive top-down influences on blinking behavior and compare these influences between the auditory and the visual domain.
Using an oddball paradigm, we found a significant pre-stimulus decrease in blink probability for visual input compared to auditory input. Sensory input further led to an early post-stimulus blink increase in both modalities if a task demanded attention to the input. Only visual input caused a pronounced early increase without a task. In case of a target or the omission of a stimulus (as compared to standard input), an additional late increase in blink rate was found in the auditory and visual domain. This suggests that blink modulation must be based on the interpretation of the input, but does not need any sensory input at all to occur.
Our results show a complex modulation of blinking based on top-down factors such as prediction and attention in addition to sensory-based influences. The magnitude of the modulation is mainly influenced by general attentional demands, while the latency of this modulation allows to dissociate general from specific top-down influences that are independent of the sensory domain.
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.
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.
The Concealed Information Test (CIT) enables the detection of certain (e.g., crime-relevant or personal) information, even if participants aim to conceal their knowledge. The current preregistered study investigated whether previously observed impairing effects of alcohol intoxication on participants' performance in a reaction time CIT (RT CIT) field study also translate to a laboratory environment. In contrast to the previous study of Suchotzki and Gamer (Sci Rep 8:7825, 2018) in which alcohol consumption was voluntary and self-administered, the current study used a randomized assignment of participants to either an alcohol group (n=88; receiving a drink with 3 cl alcohol) or a sober control group (n=89; receiving a drink with just some alcohol drops to hide group assignment). After drink administration, participants completed an RT CIT, in which they were instructed to hide knowledge of their own identity. Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was estimated via breath alcohol ratio. In contrast to the previous field study, results revealed no differences in CIT-performance between intoxicated and sober participants. Aside from questioning the robustness of the result of the previous field study, our results also point to a number of interesting theoretical explanations for the discrepancy between both results, which are elaborated in the discussion.
Design choices: Empirical recommendations for designing two-dimensional finger-tracking experiments
(2020)
The continuous tracking of mouse or finger movements has become an increasingly popular research method for investigating cognitive and motivational processes such as decision-making, action-planning, and executive functions. In the present paper, we evaluate and discuss how apparently trivial design choices of researchers may impact participants’ behavior and, consequently, a study’s results. We first provide a thorough comparison of mouse- and finger-tracking setups on the basis of a Simon task. We then vary a comprehensive set of design factors, including spatial layout, movement extent, time of stimulus onset, size of the target areas, and hit detection in a finger-tracking variant of this task. We explore the impact of these variations on a broad spectrum of movement parameters that are typically used to describe movement trajectories. Based on our findings, we suggest several recommendations for best practice that avoid some of the pitfalls of the methodology. Keeping these recommendations in mind will allow for informed decisions when planning and conducting future tracking experiments.
Action binding refers to the observation that the perceived time of an action (e.g., a keypress) is shifted towards the distal sensory feedback (usually a sound) triggered by that action. Surprisingly, the role of somatosensory feedback for this phe-nomenon has been largely ignored. We fill this gap by showing that the somatosensory feedback, indexed by keypress peak force, is functional in judging keypress time. Specifically, the strength of somatosensory feedback is positively correlated with reported keypress time when the keypress is not associated with an auditory feedback and negatively correlated when the keypress triggers an auditory feedback. The result is consistent with the view that the reported keypress time is shaped by sensory information from different modalities. Moreover, individual differences in action binding can be explained by a sensory information weighting between somatosensory and auditory feedback. At the group level, increasing the strength of somatosensory feedback can decrease action binding to a level not being detected statistically. Therefore, a multisensory information integration account (between somatosensory and auditory inputs) explains action binding at both a group level and an individual level.
Social‐cognitive theory posits that children learn gender stereotypes through gendered information. The present study examined whether children learn new gender stereotypes from stories when unknown words are linked to a gendered protagonist or context information. In Experiment 1, 40 3‐ to 6‐year‐old preschoolers were read stories with either a gendered protagonist embedded within a non‐gendered context, or a non‐gendered protagonist embedded within a gendered context. In Experiment 2, the same sample of children were read stories with the protagonist and the context displaying congruent or incongruent gender information. Each story featured an unknown activity linked with the stereotypical content. Both experiments indicate that the children rated the activity according to both the gender of the context and of the protagonist; however, the effect of the latter was stronger. In addition, children showed higher interest in the unknown activity if the protagonist’s gender matched their own sex. Thus, gender information in stories influences how children perceive unknown words.
Objectives
Virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) is a promising treatment for patients with fear of driving. The present pilot study is the first one focusing on behavioral effects of VRET on patients with fear of driving as measured by a post-treatment driving test in real traffic.
Methods
The therapy followed a standardized manual including psychotherapeutic and medical examination, two preparative psychotherapy sessions, five virtual reality exposure sessions, a final behavioral avoidance test (BAT) in real traffic, a closing session, and two follow-up phone assessments after six and twelve weeks. VRE was conducted in a driving simulator with a fully equipped mockup. The exposure scenarios were individually tailored to the patients’ anxiety hierarchy. A total of 14 patients were treated. Parameters on the verbal, behavioral and physiological level were assessed.
Results
The treatment was helpful to overcome driving fear and avoidance. In the final BAT, all patients mastered driving tasks they had avoided before, 71% showed an adequate driving behavior as assessed by the driving instructor, and 93% could maintain their treatment success until the second follow-up phone call. Further analyses suggest that treatment reduces avoidance behavior as well as symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder as measured by standardized questionnaires (Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire: p < .10, PTSD Symptom Scale–Self Report: p < .05).
Conclusions
VRET in driving simulation is very promising to treat driving fear. Further research with randomized controlled trials is needed to verify efficacy. Moreover, simulators with lower configuration stages should be tested for a broad availability in psychotherapy.
The paper addresses the question of how to approach consciousness in unreflective actions. Unreflective actions differ from reflective, conscious actions in that the intentional description under which the agent knows what she is doing is not available or present to the agent at the moment of acting. Yet, unreflective actions belong to the field in which an agent experiences herself as capable of acting. Some unreflective actions, however, narrow this field and can be characterized by intentionality being inhibited. By studying inhibited intentionality in unreflective actions, the aim of the paper is to show how weaker forms of action urge us to expand our overall understanding of action. If we expand the field of actions such that it encompasses also some of the involuntary aspects of action, we are able to understand how unreflective actions can remain actions and do not fall under the scope of automatic behavior. With the notion of weak agency, the paper thus addresses one aspect of unreflective action, namely, “inhibited intentionality” in which an agent feels a diminished sense of authorship in relation to her possibility for self-understanding. The notion of weak agency clarifies how agency itself remains intact but can involve a process of appropriation of one’s actions as one’s own. With a diachronic account of consciousness in unreflective action, the paper accounts for possible self-understanding in cases where none seems available at the moment of action.
Data analytics as a field is currently at a crucial point in its development, as a commoditization takes place in the context of increasing amounts of data, more user diversity, and automated analysis solutions, the latter potentially eliminating the need for expert analysts. A central hypothesis of the present paper is that data visualizations should be adapted to both the user and the context. This idea was initially addressed in Study 1, which demonstrated substantial interindividual variability among a group of experts when freely choosing an option to visualize data sets. To lay the theoretical groundwork for a systematic, taxonomic approach, a user model combining user traits, states, strategies, and actions was proposed and further evaluated empirically in Studies 2 and 3. The results implied that for adapting to user traits, statistical expertise is a relevant dimension that should be considered. Additionally, for adapting to user states different user intentions such as monitoring and analysis should be accounted for. These results were used to develop a taxonomy which adapts visualization recommendations to these (and other) factors. A preliminary attempt to validate the taxonomy in Study 4 tested its visualization recommendations with a group of experts. While the corresponding results were somewhat ambiguous overall, some aspects nevertheless supported the claim that a user-adaptive data visualization approach based on the principles outlined in the taxonomy can indeed be useful. While the present approach to user adaptivity is still in its infancy and should be extended (e.g., by testing more participants), the general approach appears to be very promising.
Spatial action–effect binding denotes the mutual attraction between the perceived position of an effector (e.g., one’s own hand) and a distal object that is controlled by this effector. Such spatial binding can be construed as an implicit measure of object ownership, thus the belonging of a controlled object to the own body. The current study investigated how different transformations of hand movements (body-internal action component) into movements of a visual object (body-external action component) affect spatial action–effect binding, and thus implicit object ownership. In brief, participants had to bring a cursor on the computer screen into a predefined target position by moving their occluded hand on a tablet and had to estimate their final hand position. In Experiment 1, we found a significantly lower drift of the proprioceptive position of the hand towards the visual object when hand movements were transformed into laterally inverted cursor movements, rather than cursor movements in the same direction. Experiment 2 showed that this reduction reflected an elimination of spatial action–effect binding in the inverted condition. The results are discussed with respect to the prerequisites for an experience of ownership over artificial, noncorporeal objects. Our results show that predictability of an object movement alone is not a sufficient condition for ownership because, depending on the type of transformation, integration of the effector and a distal object can be fully abolished even under conditions of full controllability.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Based on an embodied account of language comprehension, this study investigated the dynamic characteristics of children and adults’ perceptual simulations during sentence comprehension, using a novel paradigm to assess the perceptual simulation of objects moving up and down a vertical axis. The participants comprised adults (N = 40) and 6-, 8-, and 10-year-old children (N = 116). After listening in experimental trials to sentences implying that objects moved upward or downward, the participants were shown pictures and had to decide as quickly as possible whether the objects depicted had been mentioned in the sentences. The target pictures moved either up or down and then stopped in the middle of the screen. All age groups’ reaction times were found to be shorter when the objects moved in the directions that the sentences implied. Age exerted no developmental effect on reaction times. The findings suggest that dynamic perceptual simulations are fundamental to language comprehension in text recipients aged 6 and older.
The present thesis addresses cognitive processing of voice information. Based on general theoretical concepts regarding mental processes it will differentiate between modular, abstract information processing approaches to cognition and interactive, embodied ideas of mental processing. These general concepts will then be transferred to the context of processing voice-related information in the context of parallel face-related processing streams. One central issue here is whether and to what extent cognitive voice processing can occur independently, that is, encapsulated from the simultaneous processing of visual person-related information (and vice versa). In Study 1 (Huestegge & Raettig, in press), participants are presented with audio-visual stimuli displaying faces uttering digits.
Audiovisual gender congruency was manipulated: There were male and female faces, each uttering digits with either a male or female voice (all stimuli were AV- synchronized). Participants were asked to categorize the gender of either the face or the voice by pressing one of two keys in each trial. A central result was that audio-visual gender congruency affected performance: Incongruent stimuli were categorized slower and more error-prone, suggesting a strong cross-modal interaction of the underlying visual and auditory processing routes. Additionally, the effect of incongruent visual information on auditory classification was stronger than the effect of incongruent auditory information on visual categorization, suggesting visual dominance over auditory processing in the context of gender classification. A gender congruency effect was also present under high cognitive load. Study 2 (Huestegge, Raettig, & Huestegge, in press) utilized the same (gender-congruent and -incongruent) stimuli, but different tasks for the participants, namely categorizing the spoken digits (into odd/even or smaller/larger than 5). This should effectively direct attention away from gender information, which was no longer task-relevant. Nevertheless, congruency effects were still observed in this study. This suggests a relatively automatic processing of cross-modal gender information, which
eventually affects basic speech-based information processing. Study 3 (Huestegge, subm.) focused on the ability of participants to match unfamiliar voices to (either static or dynamic) faces. One result was that participants were indeed able to match voices to faces. Moreover, there was no evidence for any performance increase when dynamic (vs. mere static) faces had to be matched to concurrent voices. The results support the idea that common person-related source information affects both vocal and facial features, and implicit corresponding knowledge appears to be used by participants to successfully complete face-voice matching. Taken together, the three studies (Huestegge, subm.; Huestegge & Raettig, in press; Huestegge et al., in press) provided information to further develop current theories of voice processing (in the context of face processing). On a general level, the results of all three studies are not in line with an abstract, modular view of cognition, but rather lend further support to interactive, embodied accounts of mental processing.
Social attention is a ubiquitous, but also enigmatic and sometimes elusive phenomenon.
We direct our gaze at other human beings to see what they are doing
and to guess their intentions, but we may also absorb social events en passant as
they unfold in the corner of the eye. We use our gaze as a discrete communication
channel, sometimes conveying pieces of information which would be difficult
to explicate, but we may also find ourselves avoiding eye-contact with others in
moments when self-disclosure is fear-laden. We experience our gaze as the most
genuine expression of our will, but research also suggests considerable levels of
predictability and automaticity in our gaze behavior. The phenomenon’s complexity
has hindered researchers from developing a unified framework which can
conclusively accommodate all of its aspects, or from even agreeing on the most
promising research methodologies.
The present work follows a multi-methods approach, taking on several aspects
of the phenomenon from various directions. Participants in study 1 viewed dynamic
social scenes on a computer screen. Here, low-level physical saliency (i.e.
color, contrast, or motion) and human heads both attracted gaze to a similar extent,
providing a comparison of two vastly different classes of gaze predictors in
direct juxtaposition. In study 2, participants with varying degrees of social anxiety
walked in a public train station while their eye movements were tracked. With
increasing levels of social anxiety, participants showed a relative avoidance of gaze
at near compared to distant people. When replicating the experiment in a laboratory
situation with a matched participant group, social anxiety did not modulate
gaze behavior, fueling the debate around appropriate experimental designs in the
field. Study 3 employed virtual reality (VR) to investigate social gaze in a complex
and immersive, but still highly controlled situation. In this situation, participants
exhibited a gaze behavior which may be more typical for real-life compared to laboratory situations as they avoided gaze contact with a virtual conspecific unless
she gazed at them. This study provided important insights into gaze behavior in
virtual social situations, helping to better estimate the possible benefits of this
new research approach. Throughout all three experiments, participants showed
consistent inter-individual differences in their gaze behavior. However, the present
work could not resolve if these differences are linked to psychologically meaningful
traits or if they instead have an epiphenomenal character.
Major depressive disorder and the anxiety disorders are highly prevalent, disabling and moderately heritable. Depression and anxiety are also highly comorbid and have a strong genetic correlation (r(g) approximate to 1). Cognitive behavioural therapy is a leading evidence-based treatment but has variable outcomes. Currently, there are no strong predictors of outcome. Therapygenetics research aims to identify genetic predictors of prognosis following therapy. We performed genome-wide association meta-analyses of symptoms following cognitive behavioural therapy in adults with anxiety disorders (n = 972), adults with major depressive disorder (n = 832) and children with anxiety disorders (n = 920; meta-analysis n = 2724). We (h(SNP)(2)) and polygenic scoring was used to examine genetic associations between therapy outcomes and psychopathology, personality and estimated the variance in therapy outcomes that could be explained by common genetic variants learning. No single nucleotide polymorphisms were strongly associated with treatment outcomes. No significant estimate of h(SNP)(2) could be obtained, suggesting the heritability of therapy outcome is smaller than our analysis was powered to detect. Polygenic scoring failed to detect genetic overlap between therapy outcome and psychopathology, personality or learning. This study is the largest therapygenetics study to date. Results are consistent with previous, similarly powered genome-wide association studies of complex traits.
Previous research showed that full body ownership illusions in virtual reality (VR) can be robustly induced by providing congruent visual stimulation, and that congruent tactile experiences provide a dispensable extension to an already established phenomenon. Here we show that visuo-tactile congruency indeed does not add to already high measures for body ownership on explicit measures, but does modulate movement behavior when walking in the laboratory. Specifically, participants who took ownership over a more corpulent virtual body with intact visuo-tactile congruency increased safety distances towards the laboratory's walls compared to participants who experienced the same illusion with deteriorated visuo-tactile congruency. This effect is in line with the body schema more readily adapting to a more corpulent body after receiving congruent tactile information. We conclude that the action-oriented, unconscious body schema relies more heavily on tactile information compared to more explicit aspects of body ownership.
Promising initial insights show that offices designed to permit physical activity (PA) may reduce workplace sitting time. Biophilic approaches are intended to introduce natural surroundings into the workplace, and preliminary data show positive effects on stress reduction and elevated productivity within the workplace. The primary aim of this pilot study was to analyze changes in workplace sitting time and self-reported habit strength concerning uninterrupted sitting and PA during work, when relocating from a traditional office setting to “active” biophilic-designed surroundings. The secondary aim was to assess possible changes in work-associated factors such as satisfaction with the office environment, work engagement, and work performance, among office staff. In a pre-post designed field study, we collected data through an online survey on health behavior at work. Twelve participants completed the survey before (one-month pre-relocation, T1) and twice after the office relocation (three months (T2) and seven months post-relocation (T3)). Standing time per day during office hours increased from T1 to T3 by about 40 min per day (p < 0.01). Other outcomes remained unaltered. The results suggest that changing office surroundings to an active-permissive biophilic design increased standing time during working hours. Future larger-scale controlled studies are warranted to investigate the influence of office design on sitting time and work-associated factors during working hours in depth.
Responding in the presence of stimuli leads to an integration of stimulus features and response features into event fles, which can later be retrieved to assist action control. This integration mechanism is not limited to target stimuli, but can also include distractors (distractor-response binding). A recurring research question is which factors determine whether or not distractors are integrated. One suggested candidate factor is target-distractor congruency: Distractor-response binding effects were reported to be stronger for congruent than for incongruent target-distractor pairs. Here, we discuss a general problem with including the factor of congruency in typical analyses used to study distractor-based binding effects. Integrating this factor leads to a confound that may explain any differences between distractor-response binding effects of congruent and incongruent distractors with a simple congruency effect. Simulation data confrmed this argument. We propose to interpret previous data cautiously and discuss potential avenues to circumvent this problem in the future.
Chronic alcohol use leads to specific neurobiological alterations in the dopaminergic brain reward system, which probably are leading to a reward deficiency syndrome in alcohol dependence. The purpose of our study was to examine the effects of such hypothesized neurobiological alterations on the behavioral level, and more precisely on the implicit and explicit reward learning. Alcohol users were classified as dependent drinkers (using the DSM-IV criteria), binge drinkers (using criteria of the USA National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism) or low-risk drinkers (following recommendations of the Scientific board of trustees of the German Health Ministry). The final sample (n = 94) consisted of 36 low-risk alcohol users, 37 binge drinkers and 21 abstinent alcohol dependent patients. Participants were administered a probabilistic implicit reward learning task and an explicit reward- and punishment-based trial-and-error-learning task. Alcohol dependent patients showed a lower performance in implicit and explicit reward learning than low risk drinkers. Binge drinkers learned less than low-risk drinkers in the implicit learning task. The results support the assumption that binge drinking and alcohol dependence are related to a chronic reward deficit. Binge drinking accompanied by implicit reward learning deficits could increase the risk for the development of an alcohol dependence.
Continuous norming methods have seldom been subjected to scientific review. In this simulation study, we compared parametric with semi-parametric continuous norming methods in psychometric tests by constructing a fictitious population model within which a latent ability increases with age across seven age groups. We drew samples of different sizes (n = 50, 75, 100, 150, 250, 500 and 1,000 per age group) and simulated the results of an easy, medium, and difficult test scale based on Item Response Theory (IRT). We subjected the resulting data to different continuous norming methods and compared the data fit under the different test conditions with a representative cross-validation dataset of n = 10,000 per age group. The most significant differences were found in suboptimal (i.e., too easy or too difficult) test scales and in ability levels that were far from the population mean. We discuss the results with regard to the selection of the appropriate modeling techniques in psychometric test construction, the required sample sizes, and the requirement to report appropriate quantitative and qualitative test quality criteria for continuous norming methods in test manuals.
Human actions are generally not determined by external stimuli, but by internal goals and by the urge to evoke desired effects in the environment. To reach these effects, humans typically have to act. But at times, deciding not to act can be better suited or even the only way to reach a desired effect. What mental processes are involved when people decide not to act to reach certain effects? From the outside it may seem that nothing remarkable is happening, because no action can be observed. However, I present three studies which disclose the cognitive processes that control nonactions.
The present experiments address situations where people intentionally decide to omit certain actions in order to produce a predictable effect in the environment. These experiments are based on the ideomotor hypothesis, which suggests that bidirectional associations can be formed between actions and the resulting effects. Because of these associations, anticipating the effects can in turn activate the respective action. The results of the present experiments show that associations can be formed between nonactions (i.e., the intentional decision not to act) and the resulting effects. Due to these associations, perceiving the nonaction effects encourages not acting (Exp. 1–3). What is more, planning a nonaction seems to come with an activation of the effects that inevitably follow the nonaction (Exp. 4–5). These results suggest that the ideomotor hypothesis can be expanded to nonactions and that nonactions are cognitively represented in terms of their sensory effects. Furthermore, nonaction effects can elicit a sense of agency (Exp. 6–8). That is, even though people refrain from acting, the resulting nonaction effects are perceived as self-produced effects.
In a nutshell, these findings demonstrate that intentional nonactions include specific mechanisms and processes, which are involved, for instance, in effect anticipation and the sense of agency. This means that, while it may seem that nothing remarkable is happening when people decide not to act, complex processes run on the inside, which are also involved in intentional actions.
In most foreign language learning contexts, there are only rare chance for contact with native speakers of the target language. In such a situation, reading plays an important role in language acquisition as well as in gaining cultural information about the target language and its speakers.
Previous research indicated that reading in foreign language is a complex process, which is influenced by various linguistic, cognitive and affective factors. The aim of the present study was to test two structural models of the relationship between reading comprehension in native language (L1), English language (L2) reading motivation, metacognitive awareness of L2 reading strategies, and reading comprehension of English as a foreign language among the two samples. Furthermore, the current study aimed to examine the differences between Egyptian and German students in their perceived usage of reading strategies during reading English texts, as well as to explore the pattern of their motivation toward reading English texts. For this purpose, 401 students were recruited from Germany (n=200) and Egypt (n=201) to participate in the current study. In order to have information about metacognitive awareness of reading strategies, a self-report questionnaire (SORS) developed by Moktari and Sheory (2002) was used. While the L2 reading motivation variable, was measured by a reading motivation survey (L2RMQ) which was based on reviewed reading motivation research. In addition, two reading tests were administrated one to measure reading comprehension for native language (German/Arabic) and the other to measure English reading comprehension.
To analyze the collected data, descriptive statistics and independent t-tests were performed. In addition, further analysis using structural equation modeling was applied to test the strength of relationships between the variables under study.
The results from the current research revealed that L1 reading comprehension, whether in a German or Arabic language, had the strongest relationship with L2 reading comprehension. However, the relationship between L2 intrinsic reading motivation was not proven to be significant in either the German or Egyptian models. On the other hand, the relationship between L2 extrinsic reading motivation, metacognitive awareness of reading strategies, and L2 reading comprehension was only proven significant in the German sample. The discussion of these results along with their pedagogical implications for education and practice will be illustrated in the following study.
Research on the deployment and use of technology to assist learning has seen a significant
rise over the last decades (Aparicio et al., 2017). The focus on course quality, technology,
learning outcome and learner satisfaction in e-learning has led to insufficient attention by
researchers to individual characteristics of learners (Cidral et al., 2017 ; Hsu et al., 2013). The current work aims to bridge this gap by investigating characteristics identified by previous works and backed by theory as influential individual differences in e-learning. These learner characteristics have been suggested as motivational factors (Edmunds et al., 2012) in decisions by learners to interact and exchange information (Luo et al., 2017).
In this work e-learning is defined as interaction dependent information seeking and sharing enabled by technology. This is primarily approached from a media psychology perspective. The role of learner characteristics namely, beliefs about the source of knowledge (Schommer, 1990), learning styles (Felder & Silverman, 1988), need for affect (Maio & Esses, 2001), need for cognition (Cacioppo & Petty, 1982) and power distance (Hofstede, 1980) on interactions to seek and share information in e-learning are investigated. These investigations were shaped by theory and empirical lessons as briefly mentioned in the next paragraphs. Theoretical support for investigations is derived from the technology acceptance model(TAM) by psychologist Davis (1989) and the hyper-personal model by communication scientist Walther (1996). The TAM was used to describe the influence of learner characteristics on decisions to use e-learning systems (Stantchev et al., 2014). The hyper-personal model described why computer-mediated communication thrives in e-learning (Kaye et al., 2016) and how learners interpret messages exchanged online (Hansen et al., 2015). This theoretical framework was followed by empirical reviews which justified the use of interaction and information seeking-sharing as key components of e-learning as well as the selection of learner characteristics. The reviews provided suggestions for the measurement of variables (Kühl et al., 2014) and the investigation design (Dascalau et al., 2015). Investigations were designed and implemented through surveys and quasi experiments which were used for three preliminary studies and two main studies. Samples were selected from Germany and Ghana with same variables tested in both countries. Hypotheses were tested with interaction and information seeking-sharing as dependent variables while beliefs about the source of knowledge, learning styles, need for affect, need for cognition and power distance were independent variables. Firstly, using analyses of variance, the influence of beliefs about the source of knowledge on interaction choices of learners was supported. Secondly, the role of need for cognition on interaction choices of learners was supported by results from a logistic regression. Thirdly, results from multiple linear regressions backed the influence of need for cognition and power distance on information seeking-sharing behaviour of learners. Fourthly, the relationship between need for affect and need for cognition
was supported. The findings may have implications for media psychology research, theories used in this work, research on e-learning, measurement of learner characteristics and the design of e-learning platforms. The findings suggest that, the beliefs learners have about the source of knowledge, their need for cognition and their power distance can influence decisions to interact and seek or share information. The outlook from reviews and findings in this work predicts more research on learner characteristics and a corresponding intensity in the use of e-learning by individuals. It is suggested that future studies investigate the relationship between learner autonomy and power distance. Studies on inter-cultural similarities amongst e-learners in different populations are also
suggested.
Social Cueing of Numerical Magnitude : Observed Head Orientation Influences Number Processing
(2019)
In many parts of the modern world, numbers are used as tools to describe spatial relationships, be it heights, latitudes, or distances. However, this connection goes deeper as a myriad of studies showed that number representations are rooted in space (vertical, horizontal, and/or radial). For instance, numbers were shown to affect spatial perception and, conversely, perceptions or movements in space were shown to affect number estimations. This bidirectional link has already found didactic application in the classroom when children are taught the meaning of numbers. However, our knowledge about the cognitive (and neuropsychological) processes underlying the numerical magnitude operations is still very limited.
Several authors indicated that the processing within peripersonal space (i.e. the space surrounding the body in reaching distance) and numerical magnitude operations are functionally equivalent. This assumption has several implications that the present work aims at describing. For instance, vision and visuospatial attention orienting play a prominent role for processing within peripersonal space. Indeed, both neuropsychological and behavioral studies also suggested a similar role of vision and visuospatial attention orienting for number processing. Moreover, social cognition research showed that movements, posture and gestures affect not only the representation of one's own peripersonal space, but also the visuospatial attention behavior of an observer. Against this background, the current work tests the specific implication of the functional equivalence assumption that the spatial attention response to an observed person’s posture should extend to the observer’s numerical magnitude operations.
The empirical part of the present work tests the spatial attention response of observers to vertical head postures (with continuing eye contact to the observer) in both perceptual and numerical space. Two experimental series are presented that follow both steps from the observation of another person’s vertical head orientation (within his/her peripersonal space) to the observer’s attention orienting response (Experimental series A) as well as from there to the observer’s magnitude operations with numbers (Experimental Series B). Results show that the observation of a movement from a neutral to a vertical head orientation (Experiment 1) as well as the observation of the vertical head orientation alone (Experiment 3) shifted the observer’s spatial attention in correspondence with the direction information of the observed head (up vs. down). Movement from a vertical to a neutral end position, however, had no effect on the observer's spatial attention orienting response (Experiment 2). Furthermore, following down-tilted head posture (relative to up- or non-tilted head orientation), observers generated smaller numbers in a random number generation task (range 1- 9, Experiment 4), gave smaller estimates to numerical trivia questions (mostly multi-digit numbers, Experiment 5) and chose response keys less frequently in a free choice task that was associated with larger numerical magnitude in a intermixed numerical magnitude task.
Experimental Series A served as groundwork for Experimental Series B, as it demonstrated that observing another person’s head orientation indeed triggered the expected directional attention orienting response in the observer. Based on this preliminary work, the results of Experimental Series B lend support to the assumption that numerical magnitude operations are grounded in visuospatial processing of peripersonal space. Thus, the present studies brought together numerical and social cognition as well as peripersonal space research. Moreover, the Empirical Part of the present work provides the basis for elaborating on the role of processing within peripersonal space in terms of Walsh’s (2003, 2013) Theory of Magnitude. In this context, a specification of the Theory of Magnitude was staked out in a processing model that stresses the pivotal role of spatial attention orienting. Implications for mental magnitude operations are discussed. Possible applications in the classroom and beyond are described.
This dissertation highlights various aspects of basic social attention by choosing versatile approaches to disentangle the precise mechanisms underlying the preference to focus on other human beings. The progressive examination of different social processes contrasted with aspects of previously adopted principles of general attention. Recent research investigating eye movements during free exploration revealed a clear and robust social bias, especially for the faces of depicted human beings in a naturalistic scene. However, free viewing implies a combination of mechanisms, namely automatic attention (bottom-up), goal-driven allocation (top-down), or contextual cues and inquires consideration of overt (open exploration using the eyes) as well as covert orienting (peripheral attention without eye movement). Within the scope of this dissertation, all of these aspects have been disentangled in three studies to provide a thorough investigation of different influences on social attention mechanisms.
In the first study (section 2.1), we implemented top-down manipulations targeting non-social features in a social scene to test competing resources. Interestingly, attention towards social aspects prevailed, even though this was detrimental to completing the requirements. Furthermore, the tendency of this bias was evident for overall fixation patterns, as well as fixations occurring directly after stimulus onset, suggesting sustained as well as early preferential processing of social features. Although the introduction of tasks generally changes gaze patterns, our results imply only subtle variance when stimuli are social. Concluding, this experiment indicates that attention towards social aspects remains preferential even in light of top-down demands.
The second study (section 2.2) comprised of two separate experiments, one in which we investigated reflexive covert attention and another in which we tested reflexive as well as sustained overt attention for images in which a human being was unilaterally located on either the left or right half of the scene. The first experiment consisted of a modified dot-probe paradigm, in which peripheral probes were presented either congruently on the side of the social aspect, or incongruently on the non-social side. This was based on the assumption that social features would act similar to cues in traditional spatial cueing paradigms, thereby facilitating reaction times for probes presented on the social half as opposed to the non-social half. Indeed, results reflected such congruency effect. The second experiment investigated these reflexive mechanisms by monitoring eye movements and specifying the location of saccades and fixations for short as well as long presentation times. Again, we found the majority of initial saccades to be congruently directed to the social side of the stimulus. Furthermore, we replicated findings for sustained attention processes with highest fixation densities for the head region of the displayed human being.
The third study (section 2.3), tackled the other mechanism proposed in the attention dichotomy, the bottom-up influence. Specifically, we reduced the available contextual information of a scene by using a gaze-contingent display, in which only the currently fixated regions would be visible to the viewer, while the remaining image would remain masked. Thereby, participants had to voluntarily change their gaze in order to explore the stimulus. First, results revealed a replication of a social bias in free-viewing displays. Second, the preference to select social features was also evident in gaze-contingent displays. Third, we find higher recurrent gaze patterns for social images compared to non-social ones for both viewing modalities. Taken together, these findings imply a top-down driven preference for social features largely independent of contextual information.
Importantly, for all experiments, we took saliency predictions of different computational algorithms into consideration to ensure that the observed social bias was not a result of high physical saliency within these areas. For our second experiment, we even reduced the stimulus set to those images, which yielded lower mean and peak saliency for the side of the stimulus containing the social information, while considering algorithms based on low-level features, as well as pre-trained high-level features incorporated in deep learning algorithms.
Our experiments offer new insights into single attentional mechanisms with regard to static social naturalistic scenes and enable a further understanding of basic social processing, contrasting from that of non-social attention. The replicability and consistency of our findings across experiments speaks for a robust effect, attributing social attention an exceptional role within the general attention construct, not only behaviorally, but potentially also on a neuronal level and further allowing implications for clinical populations with impaired social functioning.
Biologische Marker für Aufmerksamkeitsverzerrungen bei sozialer Ängstlichkeit und deren Modifikation
(2019)
Diese Dissertationsschrift beschäftigt sich mit biologischen Korrelaten von Aufmerksamkeits-verzerrungen und eruiert deren Modifikation in einem längsschnittlich angelegten Experiment. Hierfür wurden über 100 sozial-ängstliche Teilnehmer mit Hilfe einer Screening-Prozedur gewonnen und hinsichtlich der Ausprägung einer ereigniskorrelierten Lateralisation namens „N2pc“ untersucht.
Während der ersten Labormessung indizierte die N2pc bei der Bearbeitung eines Dot Probe Paradigmas einen mittelgroßen, statistisch hochbedeutsamen Attentional Bias hin zu wütenden Gesichtern im Vergleich zu neutralen. Das hierfür klassischerweise verwendete Maß von Reaktionszeitunterschieden hingegen konnte diese Verzerrung der Aufmerksamkeit nicht abbilden. Ferner zeigten weder die elektrophysiologische noch die behaviorale Messgröße einen Zusammenhang mit Fragebögen sozialer Angst, was teilweise auf ein Fehlen interner Konsistenz zurückgeführt werden kann.
Im weiteren Verlauf absolvierten die überwiegend weiblichen Teilnehmer an acht unterschiedlichen Terminen über zwei bis vier Wochen fast 7000 Durchgänge eines Aufmerksamkeitsverzerrungsmodifikationstrainings oder einer aktiven Kontrollprozedur. Daraufhin zeigte sich eine Auslöschung der ereigniskorrelierten Lateralisation, allerdings in einem späteren Zeitfenster als erwartet. Dieses Verschwinden des Attentional Bias blieb bis elf Wochen nach Ende der Trainingsprozedur stabil. Außerdem trat dieselbe Modifikation ebenfalls für die Kontrollgruppe auf. Die selbstberichtete Schwere der Symptomausprägung veränderte sich zwar nicht, allerdings konnte eine Reduktion des Persönlichkeitsmerkmals Neurotizismus verzeichnet werden, welches konzeptuell mit dem Begriff der Ängstlichkeit eng verwoben ist.
Durch explorative Folgeanalysen konnte eine stärkere Modulation der rechten Großhirnhälfte, also durch Reize im linken visuellen Halbfeld aufgedeckt werden. Eine Neuberechnung des Attentional Bias separat für jede Hemisphäre scheint daher auch für künftige Untersuchungen angebracht. Ferner wurde als Träger der Modifikation über die Zeit eine Veränderung der Hyperpolarisation nach der N2-Komponente identifiziert. Ob durch eine Anpassung der Prozedur eine Modulation einer früheren ereigniskorrelierten Komponente erzielt werden kann, bleibt zum aktuellen Zeitpunkt unbeantwortet.
In dieser EEG Untersuchung wurde der Einfluss von zuvor präsentierten Abfolgen wütender und neutraler Gesichtsausdrücke auf die neurokognitive Verarbeitung eines aktuell wahrgenommenen Gesichts unter Berücksichtigung des modulierenden Effekts der individuellen Ängstlichkeit, sowie eines sozial stressenden Kontextes und einer erhöhten kognitiven Auslastung erforscht.
Die Ergebnisse lieferten bereits auf der Ebene der basalen visuellen Gesichtsanalyse Belege für eine parallele Verarbeitung und Integration von strukturellen und emotionalen Gesichtsinformationen. Zudem konnte schon in dieser frühen Phase ein genereller kontextueller Einfluss von Gesichtssequenzen auf die kognitive Gesichtsverarbeitung nachgewiesen werden, welcher sogar in späteren Phasen der kognitiven Verarbeitung noch zunahm.
Damit konnte nachgewiesen werden, dass die zeitliche Integration, d.h. die spezifische Abfolge wahrgenommener Gesichter eine wichtige Rolle für die kognitive Evaluation des aktuell perzipierten Gesichtes spielt. Diese Ergebnisse wurden zudem in einer Revision des Gesichtsverarbeitungsmodells von Haxby und Kollegen verordnet und in einer sLORETA Analyse dargestellt.
Die Befunde zur individuellen Ängstlichkeit und kognitiven Auslastung bestätigten außerdem die Attentional Control Theorie und das Dual Mechanisms of Control Modell.
Context conditioning is characterized by unpredictable threat and its generalization may constitute risk factors for panic disorder (PD). Therefore, we examined differences between individuals with panic attacks (PA; N = 21) and healthy controls (HC, N = 22) in contextual learning and context generalization using a virtual reality (VR) paradigm. Successful context conditioning was indicated in both groups by higher arousal, anxiety and contingency ratings, and increased startle responses and skin conductance levels (SCLs) in an anxiety context (CTX+) where an aversive unconditioned stimulus (US) occurred unpredictably vs. a safety context (CTX−). PA compared to HC exhibited increased differential responding to CTX+ vs. CTX− and overgeneralization of contextual anxiety on an evaluative verbal level, but not on a physiological level. We conclude that increased contextual conditioning and contextual generalization may constitute risk factors for PD or agoraphobia contributing to the characteristic avoidance of anxiety contexts and withdrawal to safety contexts and that evaluative cognitive process may play a major role.
Forward Collision Alarms (FCA) intend to signal hazardous traffic situations and the need for an immediate corrective driver response. However, data of naturalistic driving studies revealed that approximately the half of all alarms activated by conventional FCA systems represented unnecessary alarms. In these situations, the alarm activation was correct according to the implemented algorithm, whereas the alarms led to no or only minimal driver responses. Psychological research can make an important contribution to understand drivers’ needs when interacting with driver assistance systems.
The overarching objective of this thesis was to gain a systematic understanding of psychological factors and processes that influence drivers’ perceived need for assistance in potential collision situations. To elucidate under which conditions drivers perceive alarms as unnecessary, a theoretical framework of drivers’ subjective alarm evaluation was developed. A further goal was to investigate the impact of unnecessary alarms on drivers’ responses and acceptance. Four driving simulator studies were carried out to examine the outlined research questions.
In line with the hypotheses derived from the theoretical framework, the results suggest that drivers’ perceived need for assistance is determined by their retrospective subjective hazard perception. While predictions of conventional FCA systems are exclusively based on physical measurements resulting in a time to collision, human drivers additionally consider their own manoeuvre intentions and those attributed to other road users to anticipate the further course of a potentially critical situation. When drivers anticipate a dissolving outcome of a potential conflict, they perceive the situation as less hazardous than the system. Based on this discrepancy, the system would activate an alarm, while drivers’ perceived need for assistance is low. To sum up, the described factors and processes cause drivers to perceive certain alarms as unnecessary. Although drivers accept unnecessary alarms less than useful alarms, unnecessary alarms do not reduce their overall system acceptance. While unnecessary alarms cause moderate driver responses in the short term, the intensity of responses decrease with multiple exposures to unnecessary alarms. However, overall, effects of unnecessary alarms on drivers’ alarm responses and acceptance seem to be rather uncritical.
This thesis provides insights into human factors that explain when FCAs are perceived as unnecessary. These factors might contribute to design FCA systems tailored to drivers’ needs.
Both low-level physical saliency and social information, as presented by human heads or bodies, are known to drive gaze behavior in free-viewing tasks. Researchers have previously made use of a great variety of face stimuli, ranging from photographs of real humans to schematic faces, frequently without systematically differentiating between the two. In the current study, we used a Generalized Linear Mixed Model (GLMM) approach to investigate to what extent schematic artificial faces can predict gaze when they are presented alone or in competition with real human faces. Relative differences in predictive power became apparent, while GLMMs suggest substantial effects for real and artificial faces in all conditions. Artificial faces were accordingly less predictive than real human faces but still contributed significantly to gaze allocation. These results help to further our understanding of how social information guides gaze in complex naturalistic scenes.
Research with adults in laboratory settings has shown that distributed rereading is a beneficial learning strategy but its effects depend on time of test. When learning outcomes are measured immediately after rereading, distributed rereading yields no benefits or even detrimental effects on learning, but the beneficial effects emerge two days later. In a preregistered experiment, the effects of distributed rereading were investigated in a classroom setting with school students. Seventh-graders (N = 191) reread a text either immediately or after 1 week. Learning outcomes were measured after 4 min or 1 week. Participants in the distributed rereading condition reread the text more slowly, predicted their learning success to be lower, and reported a lower on-task focus. At the shorter retention interval, massed rereading outperformed distributed rereading in terms of learning outcomes. Contrary to students in the massed condition, students in the distributed condition showed no forgetting from the short to the long retention interval. As a result, they performed equally well as the students in the massed condition at the longer retention interval. Our results indicate that distributed rereading makes learning more demanding and difficult and leads to higher effort during rereading. Its effects on learning depend on time of test, but no beneficial effects were found, not even at the delayed test.
Animals, just like humans, can freely move. They do so for various important reasons, such as finding food and escaping predators. Observing these behaviors can inform us about the underlying cognitive processes. In addition, while humans can convey complicated information easily through speaking, animals need to move their bodies to communicate. This has prompted many creative solutions by animal neuroscientists to enable studying the brain during movement. In this review, we first summarize how animal researchers record from the brain while an animal is moving, by describing the most common neural recording techniques in animals and how they were adapted to record during movement. We further discuss the challenge of controlling or monitoring sensory input during free movement.
However, not only is free movement a necessity to reflect the outcome of certain internal cognitive processes in animals, it is also a fascinating field of research since certain crucial behavioral patterns can only be observed and studied during free movement. Therefore, in a second part of the review, we focus on some key findings in animal research that specifically address the interaction between free movement and brain activity. First, focusing on walking as a fundamental form of free movement, we discuss how important such intentional movements are for understanding processes as diverse as spatial navigation, active sensing, and complex motor planning. Second, we propose the idea of regarding free movement as the expression of a behavioral state. This view can help to understand the general influence of movement on brain function.
Together, the technological advancements towards recording from the brain during movement, and the scientific questions asked about the brain engaged in movement, make animal research highly valuable to research into the human “moving brain”.
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.
Models of eye-movement control distinguish between different control levels, ranging from automatic (bottom-up, stimulus-driven selection) and automatized (based on well-learned routines) to voluntary (top-down, goal-driven selection, e.g., based on instructions). However, one type of voluntary control has yet only been examined in the manual and not in the oculomotor domain, namely free-choice selection among arbitrary targets, that is, targets that are of equal interest from both a bottom-up and top-down processing perspective. Here, we ask which features of targets (identity- or location-related) are used to determine such oculomotor free-choice behavior. In two experiments, participants executed a saccade to one of four peripheral targets in three different choice conditions: unconstrained free choice, constrained free choice based on target identity (color), and constrained free choice based on target location. The analysis of choice frequencies revealed that unconstrained free-choice selection closely resembled constrained choice based on target location. The results suggest that free-choice oculomotor control is mainly guided by spatial (location-based) target characteristics. We explain these results by assuming that participants tend to avoid less parsimonious recoding of target-identity representations into spatial codes, the latter being a necessary prerequisite to configure oculomotor commands.
Detecting whether a suspect possesses incriminating (e.g., crime-related) information can provide valuable decision aids in court. To this means, the Concealed Information Test (CIT) has been developed and is currently applied on a regular basis in Japan. But whereas research has revealed a high validity of the CIT in student and normal populations, research investigating its validity in forensic samples in scarce. This applies even more to the reaction time-based CIT (RT-CIT), where no such research is available so far. The current study tested the application of the RT-CIT for an imaginary mock crime scenario both in a sample of prisoners (n = 27) and a matched control group (n = 25). Results revealed a high validity of the RT-CIT for discriminating between crime-related and crime-unrelated information, visible in medium to very high effect sizes for error rates and reaction times. Interestingly, in accordance with theories that criminal offenders may have worse response inhibition capacities and that response inhibition plays a crucial role in the RT-CIT, CIT-effects in the error rates were even elevated in the prisoners compared to the control group. No support for this hypothesis could, however, be found in reaction time CIT-effects. Also, performance in a standard Stroop task, that was conducted to measure executive functioning, did not differ between both groups and no correlation was found between Stroop task performance and performance in the RT-CIT. Despite frequently raised concerns that the RT-CIT may not be applicable in non-student and forensic populations, our results thereby do suggest that such a use may be possible and that effects seem to be quite large. Future research should build up on these findings by increasing the realism of the crime and interrogation situation and by further investigating the replicability and the theoretical substantiation of increased effects in non-student and forensic samples.