Space-time behavior of single and bimanual rhythmical movements: data and limit cycle model

How do space and time relate in rhythmical tasks that require the limbs to move singly or together in various modes of coordination? And what kind of minimal theoretical model could account for the observed data? Earlier findings for human cyclical movements were consistent with a nonlinear, limit cycle oscillator model (Kelso, Holt, Rubin, & Kugler, 1981) although no detailed modeling was performed at that time. In the present study, kinematic data were sampled at 200 samples/second, and a detailed analysis of movement amplitude, frequency, peak velocity, and relative phase (for the bimanual modes, in phase and antiphase) was performed. As frequency was scaled from 1 to 6 Hz (in steps of 1 Hz) using a pacing metronome, amplitude dropped inversely and peak velocity increased. Within a frequency condition, the movement's amplitude scaled directly with its peak velocity. These diverse kinematic behaviors were modeled explicitly in terms of low-dimensional (nonlinear) dissipative dynamics, with linear stiffness as the only control parameter. Data and model are shown to compare favorably. The abstract, dynamical model offers a unified treatment of a number of fundamental aspects of movement coordination and control.     

Subjectively rated physiological and cognitive symptoms in six different clinical phobias

The purpose of the present study was an attempt to describe clinical symptoms in terms of physiological reactions and negative cognitions experienced by phobic patients. A total of 267 clinical phobic patients divided among blood phobia, small animals phobia, dental phobia, claustrophobia, social phobia and agoraphobia, participated in the study. The patients within each phobic category were separated into a Conditioned and an Indirect Acquisition group, based on their answers to a set of specific questions concerning the etiology of the phobia. All patients rated (0–4) how intensively they experienced 11 specified physiological reactions and 10 negative cognitions when confronted with their phobic situation in vivo. A mean score was calculated for each item within each group, and an item rank-order hierarchy was set up for each group. Differences between items within each hierarchy were statistically evaluated by one-way ANOVAs and Turkey's HSD-tests. Results showed particular idiosyncratic patterns of responding for the blood phobic, agoraphobic and social phobic groups as well as several commonalities among all the groups concerning activation of specific physiological reactions and negative cognitions. A more fine-grained analysis of the data is best made by direct visual inspection of the figures in this paper.     

Investigation into Complementary and Integrative Health Approaches for Turkish Patients with Gastrointestinal Cancer

Journal of Religion and Health - The study was conducted to determine the levels of usage of complementary and integrative health (CIH) approaches and the symptoms experienced by Turkish patients...     

Trusting the Media? TV News as a Source of Knowledge

Abstract

Why do we trust TV news? What reasons might support a recipient’s assessment of the trustworthiness of this kind of information? This paper presents a veritistic analysis of the epistemic practice of news production and communication. The topic is approached by discussing a detailed case study, namely the characteristics of the most popular German news programme, called the ‘Tagesschau’. It will be shown that a veritistic analysis can indeed provide a recipient with relevant reasons to consider when pondering on the trustworthiness of sources of information. Moreover, it will turn out that these reasons are part of what recipients might gather from media literacy.     

Remembering successes and failures: rehearsal characteristics influence recollection and distancing

We investigated the relationship between components of rumination, brooding and reflection, and autobiographical remembering by testing whether voluntary and involuntary rehearsal mediated rumination-related variation in the sensory-affective and metacognitive features of memory experience. We focused on achievement and failure memories as both are goal-related events, yet they represent distinct experiences in terms of valence and functionality. For failure memories, brooding was associated with intense recollection and reduced psychological distance. Brooding was related to enhanced distance of achievements, indicating the disruptive effects of brooding on remembering. Although reflection attenuated the recollective experience for both achievement and failure memories, it brought achievement memories to a subjective closer past. Structural equation modelling demonstrated the mediating role of involuntary remembering on the pattern of remembering experience.     

Veränderungen kriminogener Faktoren bei Sexual- und Gewaltstraftätern in Sozialtherapie und Regelvollzug

In the evaluation of offender treatment programmes, recidivism is still the most common measure of success. However, positive effects concerning future delinquent behaviour do not prove that treatment led to changes in the targeted criminogenic risk factors. Furthermore, little is known about whether such changes differ among the various offender types. This study investigated changes in self-reported criminogenic personality patterns and cognitions in a sample of treated and untreated sexual and violent offenders. Specific prosocial changes in treatment targets, such as self-control, excitability and neuroticism were found but similar improvements were also found in untreated offenders. In addition, changes in measured risk factors did not differ between offender types, although self-control, aggressiveness and neuroticism showed significant interactions between offence type and treatment delivery. Whereas treated violent offenders exhibited more positive changes than untreated violent offenders, an inverse pattern was observed in the case of sex offenders. Minor specific treatment effects as well as the limitations of the administered psychometric instruments are discussed as possible explanations for these results.     

Therapeutic factors in interactional inpatient groups: Results from a Turkish sample

Therapeutic factors in an inpatient group from Turkey are presented. A total of 40 patients were seen over a period of 2 years and each patient was given Yalom's (1983) 60-item therapeutic factor list on discharge. The first four most valued therapeutic factor groups were Catharsis, Existential Factors, Cohesiveness and Hope. There were significant differences in the highly valued factors in different diagnostic groups. Patients with diagnoses of anxiety/somatization and borderline/identity problem preferred factors resembling those in many out-patient studies. The results are discussed in the light of relevant literature.     

Self-monitoring and future time orientation in romantic relationships

The author examined the relationship between self-monitoring and participant's gender, and future time orientation in romantic relationships (FrORR) and tested the concurrent validity of the FTORR scale in this respect. One hundred seventy-three undergraduate students from Middle East Technical University were given M. Snyder's (1974) self-monitoring scale and B. Oner's (2000b) FTORR scale. Low self-monitoring participants had a more extended future time orientation (FTO) than high self-monitoring participants in terms of romantic associations.     

Characteristics of personally important episodic memories,counterfactual thoughts,and future projections across age and culture

We have limited knowledge as to whether the phenomenological differences between episodic memories, counterfactuals, and future projections show the same pattern across age groups and diverse samples. Here we compared the characteristics of these mental events, reported by younger and older participants in a Turkish (Study 1) and in an American sample (Study 2). In both studies, memories contained more sensory-perceptual-spatial details, were easier to bring to mind, and more specific. Future projections were the most positive, whereas counterfactuals were the least emotionally intense. In Study 1, older participants rated the events more positively and experienced them with more perceptual detail, whereas younger participants reported the future to be more voluntarily rehearsed, important, and central. These age differences did not replicate in Study 2. Overall, phenomenological differences between the events are robust and replicate across diverse samples. However, age differences are more sensitive to cultural or individual differences.     

Turning stressors into something productive: an empirical study revealing nonlinear influences of role stressors on self‐efficacy

This study suggests that stressors can be productive for self‐efficacy and that the influence of stressors on self‐efficacy is nonlinear. Analyses were conducted with ordinary least squares regression on a dataset covering responses from 311 deans in Swedish secondary schools. Results support the hypothesized U‐shape relationship between role conflict and self‐efficacy and the inverted U‐shape relationship between role ambiguity and self‐efficacy. Thus, findings offer evidence for nonlinear effects of stressors on the level of incumbents' self‐efficacy. This research has implications for further research focused on the association between role stressors and self‐efficacy.