A model for production, perception, and acquisition of actions in face-to-face communication

The concept of action as basic motor control unit for goal-directed movement behavior has been used primarily for private or non-communicative actions like walking, reaching, or grasping. In this paper, literature is reviewed indicating that this concept can also be used in all domains of face-to-face communication like speech, co-verbal facial expression, and co-verbal gesturing. Three domain-specific types of actions, i.e. speech actions, facial actions, and hand-arm actions, are defined in this paper and a model is proposed that elucidates the underlying biological mechanisms of action production, action perception, and action acquisition in all domains of face-to-face communication. This model can be used as theoretical framework for empirical analysis or simulation with embodied conversational agents, and thus for advanced human–computer interaction technologies.     

Trait BIS predicts alpha asymmetry and P300 in a Go/No‐Go task

Inspired by the revised Behavioural Inhibition System (BIS) theory the present study probed the association between individual differences in Trait BIS and electroencephalogram indicators of conflict processing/inhibition. Sixty‐nine male participants either high or low in Trait BIS completed a Go/No‐Go task while the electroencephalogram was recorded. As expected, Trait BIS was associated with the No‐Go‐anteriorisation of the P300 event‐related potential (i.e. an index of response inhibition presumably generated in the dorsal anterior cingulate—an area implicated in conflict processing) and with No‐ Go‐related changes towards left frontal alpha activity (i.e. presumably more activity in right prefrontal cortex—an area implicated in response inhibition). These findings support the role of conflict processing attributed to BIS functioning in the revised theory. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The significance of overvaluation of shape and weight in binge eating disorder

As publication of DSM-V draws near, research is needed to validate the diagnostic scheme for binge eating disorder (BED). Shape and weight overvaluation has stimulated considerable debate in this regard, given associations with psychosocial impairment and poor treatment outcome in BED. This study sought to further explore the convergent validity and diagnostic specificity of shape and weight overvaluation in BED. A total of 160 women with BED, and 108 women with non-eating disordered psychiatric disorders were recruited from the community. Women with BED were classified as more or less severe based on a global measure of eating-related psychopathology; subsequent receiver operating characteristics analysis determined that a threshold of at least “moderate” overvaluation best predicted membership into a more severe group. BED participants with threshold overvaluation exhibited poorer psychosocial functioning than those with subthreshold overvaluation, as well as participants with other psychiatric disorders. Discriminant function analysis revealed that threshold overvaluation predicted a diagnosis of BED versus other psychiatric disorder with 67.7% accuracy. Results suggest that shape and weight overvaluation is a useful diagnostic specifier in BED. Continued research is warranted to examine its predictive validity in natural course and treatment outcome studies.     

Nightmare frequency and femininity/masculinity

Several large-scale studies showed that women tend to report nightmares more often than men. Despite this robust finding, empirically tested interpretations of these sex differences are lacking. Levin and Nielsen put forward the hypothesis that sex-specific socialization might be one of the risk factors for nightmare occurrence. The present findings of an online survey indicate that expressivity/femininity and instrumentality/masculinity were related to nightmare fre quency and, thus, supported this hypothesis. Since the sex difference in nightmare frequency was not fully explained by these two variables, future studies should investigate other variables--in addition to sex-role orientation--like depressive symptoms, history of sexual and/or physical abuse, ruminative coping styles, and physiological measures of processing emotional stimuli within the brain.     

Children's and Parents’ Well‐Being in Joint Physical Custody: A Literature Review

Joint physical custody (JPC), a parental care arrangement in which a child lives with each parent for at least 25–50% of the time after separation or divorce, is increasingly common in many Western societies. This is a major shift from the standard of sole physical custody, with mostly mothers providing primary childcare after a parental separation or divorce. The increasing share of separated or divorced parents who practice JPC, which in some countries, US states, and regions reaches 30% and more, results from increasing gender equality due to mothers participating considerably in the labor force and fathers being actively involved in their children's daily lives. This review focuses on the effects of JPC on children's and parents’ well‐being, based on 40 studies from North America, Australia, and Europe published between 2007 and 2018. In sum, there is empirical evidence from different countries that suggests that JPC arrangements can have positive effects on the well‐being of children and of parents. However, the existing studies are conceptually, methodologically, and contextually very heterogeneous. In addition, self‐selected highly educated parents with a high socio‐economic status, a low conflict level, and children between the ages of 6–15 practicing JPC dominate the samples. Thus, the risks and benefits of JPC are not clear yet and are heavily debated by advocates and academics. The review concludes with suggestions for future research.     

Should supervisors communicate goals or visions? The moderating role of subordinates' psychological distance

There is an ongoing debate about how supervisors should communicate desired end‐states to subordinates, that is, whether they should set concrete goals (according to goal setting theory) or communicate abstract visions (according to transformational leadership theory). In this paper, we draw on construal level theory (CLT) to reconcile both views and develop a model of when supervisors communicating concrete goals versus abstract visions are seen as more effective. According to CLT, being psychologically removed from (vs. near to) an event or object makes people construe the event or object in a more abstract (vs. concrete) way, which, in turn, leads people to process abstract (vs. concrete) information more fluently and thus evaluate the sender of this information more favorably. Accordingly, supervisor effectiveness may be higher in conditions where communication and psychological distance to the supervisor converge (vision/far and goals/close) rather than diverge (vision/close and goals/far). We tested this hypothesis in two experiments, using different operationalizations of psychological distance. In these studies, we found supervisor effectiveness to be higher when vision was communicated at a far versus near distance and goals were communicated at a near versus far distance.     

Revisiting Ego Depletion: Moderators and Measurement

We developed and validated two web-based tasks to induce and measure ego depletion in two online experiments (N?=?122 and N?=?788). Ego depletion describes the phenomenon that exerting self-control temporarily reduces people’s capacity to subsequently control themselves. To induce ego depletion, we adapted the e-crossing task, and to measure ego depletion, we adapted the color Stroop task. We successfully induced ego depletion. Participants’ implicit theories about willpower as well as their mood moderated ego depletion. We also discuss several methodological issues and compare different approaches of measuring ego depletion using aggregated reaction times.     

Interstitial deletion on chromosome 5q33.3q35.1 in a 6-year-old girl -- neuropsychological findings and follow-up in an extremely rare chromosomal aberration.

Interstitial deletion on chromosome 5q33.3q35.1 is an extremely rare chromosomal aberration for which a characteristic syndrome could not yet be delineated. In most patients with 5q deletions severe mental retardation is described. Recently, Spranger et al. (2000) described the case of a 4-year-old girl with a de novo deletion on 5q33.3q35.1 presenting only with mild psychomotor delay, minor facial anomalies, and seizures. The patient was admitted for outpatient neuropsychological assessment when she was 6.2 years old. Neurocognitive tests revealed an overall developmental delay of about 32 months and an intelligence score in the range of mild mental retardation. Her cognitive phenotype was characterized by a considerable visual-spatial deficit in the form of disorganized drawings or block designs indicating a profound lack of cohesion and overall global organization (decay of gestalt). The patient's behavioral phenotype was dominated by a distinct disinhibition syndrome demonstrating severe hyperactivity, utilization behavior, and aggressive behavior.     

Modular Treatment for Children and Adolescents With Problematic School Absenteeism: Development and Description of a Program in Germany

Problematic school absenteeism is defined as absence from school occurring with a clinical-level mental disorder. It represents a higher-order term for school refusal, school truancy, and the combination thereof and is associated with an increased risk for school dropout, prolonged mental disorders, and unemployment. This article describes the manualized modular treatment of problematic school absenteeism (MT) by a multiprofessional team. The manual was developed to target a broad spectrum of mental disorders characterized by internalizing but also externalizing behavior. The therapeutic focus is on the reintegration into school and on the cognitive behavioral treatment of the mental disorder. The MT is based on a multilevel model of problematic school absenteeism. The treatment is informed by an extensive case-conceptualization and addresses motivational aspects by offering a low-threshold therapeutic design and motivational interviewing. Core interventions are represented in four modules: cognitive behavioral therapy, family counseling, school counseling, and a psychoeducational physical exercise program. A case vignette provides an illustration of the treatment and the specific graduated approach for school reintegration. The current modular approach is discussed in relation to other cognitive-behavioral manuals targeting a broad spectrum of mental disorders or school refusal.     

Learning artificial grammars: No evidence for the acquisition of rules

Two experiments investigated whether there is evidence for acquisition of rules in implicit artificial grammar learning (AGL). Two different methods were used in meeting this goal, multiple regression analysis and analysis of receiver-operating characteristics (ROCs). By means of multiple regression analysis, several types of knowledge were identified that were used in judgments of grammaticality, for example, about single letters and about larger stimulus fragments. There was no evidence for the contribution of rule knowledge. The ROCs were in accord with a similarity-based account of AGL and thus did not support the notion that rule knowledge is acquired in AGL either. Simulations with a connectionist model corroborated the conclusion that the results were in accord with a similarity-based, associative account.