Interval timing routines for the IBM PC/XT/AT microcomputer family

We describe a 1-msec software timer for measuring response latencies and controlling delays on the IBM PC/XT/AT without additional hardware requirements. To demonstrate the machine language routines, a short BASIC example program is included. In a simple experimental design, two different stimulus words are presented on screen and keypress response latencies are measured. Precise timing of stimulus presentation is accomplished by direct manipulation of the video controller. The principles of programming interrupt-controlled timing routines are addressed to be easily adapted to other problems or different programming languages.     

Anxious personality and functional efficiency of the insular-opercular network: A graph-analytic approach to resting-state fMRI

The brain is an intricate network, not only structurally but also functionally. On the functional level, connectivity in the brain is organized in separable yet interacting networks that support information processing by maintaining a ready state, even in the absence of external stimulation. It has been hypothesized that an insular-opercular network underlies the processing of emotionally salient information and that individual differences in functional connectivity within this network correspond to individual differences in trait anxiety. Here, we tested this relationship by applying graph analysis to multiple regions of interests delineating the insular-opercular network to estimate the characteristic path length that quantifies the overall information exchange efficiency within a given network. We found that people scoring high on the anxiety-related temperament-dimension harm avoidance had decreased insular-opercular network efficiency in the resting state, as indicated by a higher characteristic path length. Furthermore, people scoring high on harm avoidance showed generally reduced functional connectivity between brain regions; the relationship between harm avoidance and insular-opercular network efficiency remained significant when controlling for mean connectivity within this network. No such results were found for other resting-state networks. The results provide insights into how personality is organized in the human brain and point toward clinically relevant endophenotypes for affective and mood disorders.     

On the asymmetry in the cognitive construal of ingroup and outgroup: A model of egocentric social categorization

A model of egocentric social categorization (ESC-model) is presented. It predicts an asymmetry in the cognitive construal of ingroups and outgroups which is traced back to an egocentrism in the cognitive differentiation of the social world. The more specific assumptions are: (1) At the most basic level of cognitive differentiation, the perceiver distinguishes between the categories ME and NOT-ME. (2) This basic level categorization predicates an asymmetry in the cognitive construal of ingroup and out-group as social categories: The ingroup is construed as a heterogeneous aggregate of separate entities and the outgroup as a homogeneous social category. (3) Egocentric social categorization thus facilitates self-definition in terms of personal identity relative to self-definition in terms of social identity. The ESC-model is highly relevant to research on perceived ingroup and outgroup homogeneity. Moreover, it alerts researchers to the possibility of ‘quasi-intergroup’ situations in which the outgroup, but not the ingroup, is a salient entity. This article also discusses the relationship between the ESC-model and self-categorization theory and points out some prospects for future research.     

The relationship of GMA to counterproductive work behavior revisited

Recent research reported that general mental ability (GMA) predicted counterproductive work behavior (CWB), whereas some previous studies failed to find such a relationship. We tested occupational homogeneity of the sample and criterion measurement as two potential explanations for these inconsistencies. Study 1 replicated major design features of one previous study, which found no GMA–CWB relation in a heterogeneous sample, with occupationally homogeneous groups. Results confirmed previous null findings, indicating no effect of sample homogeneity. In Study 2, using a controlled laboratory setting, GMA was again unrelated to self‐reported CWB, but partially predicted observed CWB negatively. Combined findings suggest that GMA is consistently unrelated to CWB self‐reports but may predict objectively measured CWB independently of the likelihood of being caught. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The use of snowball sampling for multi source organizational research: Some cause for concern

In snowball sampling for multisource studies, researchers ask target participants to recruit informants. Despite its widespread use, especially for recruiting informants for multisource research, virtually no published research has addressed possible biases snowball sampling may cause in findings of this type of research. Such potential biases were tested empirically in a multisource study with a sample of 1,058 employed students asked to collect online ratings from their supervisors and coworkers. Informant ratings were obtained for 358 target participants. Objective indicators were employed to identify informant ratings suspicious of being fabricated. Results indicated that target participants who report (a) better relationship quality with informants, (b) fewer organizational constraints, and (c) more favorable self‐evaluations on behaviors to be rated by informants were more likely to be included in multisource data unsuspicious of being fabricated. Inclusion of informant ratings suspicious of being fabricated led to inflated estimates of self‐other consensus and of variance accounted for in criterion measures, to deflated informant rating means, but also to a target sample less restricted in terms of relevant organizational variables. In sum, the present findings suggest that potential biases should be identified in future uses of snowball sampling. Some practical recommendations toward that end are derived.     

Breakdown of Intimacy. Insights into the world of a depressive lock-in

Breakdowns are states in which the continuity of being was destroyed. A breakdown has happened but could not be experienced. It is not possible to observe these states because they are beyond our intuition. We have to paraphrase them as ‘shadow’, ‘non-existence’, or ‘black hole’. In these dynamics, the development of a Super-Ego precedes the development of the ego. Under such a Super-Ego, the unthinkable turns into omniscience – no intimacy is left.

This process is demonstrated using the example of a treatment in which a patient regresses into a severe autistoid depression (major depression). In a depressive lock-in, all mental life collapsed and intrapsychic and interpsychic communication was not possible, neither of the depression nor of the panic. The ‘me’ is threatened with dissolution, the ‘not-me’ is flattened into a two-dimensional non-existence. For the analyst, it is nearly impossible to understand anything, to build up any empathy, i.e., to grasp the depression intuitively. Finally, intimacy gets lost – until it is possible to communicate this agony (e.g., by projective identification).     

The Politicization of Migrants: Further Evidence that Politicized Collective Identity is a Dual Identity

The article examines the role of collective identification processes in the politicization of Russian migrants in Germany. Building on the assumption that politicized collective identity (PCI) is a dual identity, the authors predicted and found that dual identification as both Russian and German was positively related to politicization among members of the Russian minority in Germany. This relationship held up even when the influences of several sociodemographic variables, past political activity, and other forms of collective identification were statistically controlled. In addition, perceived maltreatment of Russian migrants in Germany moderated the relationship between dual identification and politicization in keeping with the theoretical assumption that the development of PCI presupposes high awareness of shared grievances. Finally, dual identification was unrelated to acceptance of political violence, but positively related to self‐restriction to peaceful political means. The constructive role of politicization driven by dual identification in social integration is discussed.     

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.