The QCAE: a Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy

Empathy has been inconsistently defined and inadequately measured. This research aimed to produce a new and rigorously developed questionnaire. Exploratory (n? = 640) and confirmatory (n? = 318) factor analyses were employed to develop the Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy (QCAE). Principal components analysis revealed 5 factors (31 items). Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed this structure in an independent sample. The hypothesized 2-factor structure (cognitive and affective empathy) was tested and provided the best and most parsimonious fit to the data. Gender differences, convergent validity, and construct validity were examined. The QCAE is a valid tool for assessing cognitive and affective empathy.     

A new protocol for investigating visual two-choice discrimination learning in lizards

Animal Cognition - One of the most widely studied abilities in lizards is discrimination learning. The protocols used to test lizards are often novel or adapted from other taxa without proper...     

The Effects of rTMS on Impulsivity in Normal Adults: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Impulsivity is a multi-dimensional construct that is regarded as a symptom of many psychiatric disorders. Harm resulting from impulsive behaviour can be substantial for the individuals concerned, for their social network, and for wider society. Therefore, the importance of developing therapeutic interventions to target impulsivity is paramount. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature from AMED, Embase, Medline, and PsycINFO databases on the use of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in healthy adults to modulate different subdomains (motor, temporal and reflection) of impulsivity. The results indicated that rTMS has distinct effects on different impulsivity subdomains. It has a significant, albeit small, effect on modulating motor impulsivity (g?=?0.30, 95% CI, 0.17 to 0.43, p?<?.001) and a moderate effect on temporal impulsivity (g?=?0.59, 95% CI, 0.32 to 0.86, p?<?.001). Subgroup analyses (e.g., excitatory vs. inhibitory rTMS, conventional rTMS vs. theta burst stimulation, analyses by stimulation sites, and type of outcome measure used) identified key parameters associated with the effects of rTMS on motor and temporal impulsivity. Age, sex, stimulation intensity and the number of pulses were not significant moderators for effects of rTMS on motor impulsivity. Due to lack of sufficient data to inform a meta-analysis, it has not been possible to assess the effects of rTMS on reflection impulsivity. The present findings provide preliminary evidence that rTMS can be used to modulate motor and temporal impulsivity in healthy individuals. Further studies are required to extend the use of rTMS to modulate impulsivity in those at most risk of engaging in harmful behaviour as a result of impulsivity, such as patients with offending histories and those with a history of self-harming behaviour.     

The relevance of connecting sustainable agricultural development with African philosophy

Our global food system is complex and philosophers can – or should – pose critical questions about it. One question that deserves particular attention is Western interference in agricultural development in Africa. To today, the Western scientific paradigm forms the basis for mainstream agricultural research and development – with a firm belief in technological solutions and economic progress. It is concerning that African philosophy is a largely unknown field among agricultural scientists and practitioners. The aim of this philosophical essay is therefore to explore the relevance of connecting sustainable agricultural development with African philosophy. The article explores Eurocentric thinking in agricultural research and development and why such thinking can be problematic. In a search for ways to respond to Eurocentrism, I follow Kimmerle, who engaged in intercultural dialogues between African and Western philosophies. Mutually respectful and transformative dialogues can lead to mutual understanding and a more equal relation between Africa and the West, in the sense that this relation becomes more open to African philosophies and less Eurocentric.     

Cognitive Functioning,Behavior, and Quality of Life After Stroke in Childhood

Rationale: To provide a better understanding of cognitive functioning, motor outcome, behavior and quality of life after childhood stroke and to study the relationship between variables expected to influence rehabilitation and outcome (age at stroke, time elapsed since stroke, lateralization, location and size of lesion).

Methods: Children who suffered from stroke between birth and their eighteenth year of life underwent an assessment consisting of cognitive tests (WISC-III, WAIS-R, K-ABC, TAP, Rey-Figure, German Version of the CVLT) and questionnaires (Conner's Scales, KIDSCREEN).

Results: Twenty-one patients after stroke in childhood (15 males, mean 11;11 years, SD 4;3, range 6;10–21;2) participated in the study. Mean Intelligence Quotients (IQ) were situated within the normal range (mean Full Scale IQ 96.5, range IQ 79–129). However, significantly more patients showed deficits in various cognitive domains than expected from a healthy population (Performance IQ p?=?.000; Digit Span p?=?.000, Arithmetic's p?=?.007, Divided Attention p?=?.028, Alertness p?=?.002). Verbal IQ was significantly better than Performance IQ in 13 of 17 patients, independent of the hemispheric side of lesion. Symptoms of ADHD occurred more often in the patients' sample than in a healthy population (learning difficulties/inattention p?=?.000; impulsivity/hyperactivity p?=?.006; psychosomatics p?=?.006). Certain aspects of quality of life were reduced (autonomy p?=?.003; parents' relation p?=?.003; social acceptance p?=?.037). Three patients had a right-sided hemiparesis, mean values of motor functions of the other patients were slightly impaired (sequential finger movements p?=?.000, hand alternation p?=?.001, foot tapping p?=?.043). In patients without hemiparesis, there was no relation between the lateralization of lesion and motor outcome. Lesion that occurred in the midst of childhood (5–10 years) led to better cognitive outcome than lesion in the very early (0–5 years) or late childhood (10–18 years). Other variables such as presence of seizure, elapsed time since stroke and size of lesion had a small to no impact on prognosis.

Conclusion: Moderate cognitive and motor deficits, behavioral problems, and impairment in some aspects of quality of life frequently remain after stroke in childhood. Visuospatial functions are more often reduced than verbal functions, independent of the hemispheric side of lesion. This indicates a functional superiority of verbal skills compared to visuospatial skills in the process of recovery after brain injury. Compared to the cognitive outcome following stroke in adults, cognitive sequelae after childhood stroke do indicate neither the lateralization nor the location of the lesion focus. Age at stroke seems to be the only determining factor influencing cognitive outcome.     

Umgang mit gefährlichen Straftätern in England und Wales

Forensic psychiatric institutions exist in all western European countries. Their organisation depends on a number of factors including the legal framework and societal attitudes towards mentally disordered offenders. This article describes and critically comments on the forensic psychiatric system in England and Wales, its legal framework and approaches to dealing with dangerous offenders. England and Wales have a long forensic psychiatric tradition with the first high security hospital, Broadmoor hospital, having been established in 1863. Evidence-based treatment approaches in forensic hospitals as well as in prisons, training of forensic psychiatrists and research in the field of forensic psychiatry have gained international recognition. However, there are some worrying aspects in the system of forensic psychiatric care and the criminal justice system more generally, in particular the high and still increasing number of prisoners in comparison with other European countries, the low age of criminal responsibility, long sentences, increasing length of stay in forensic care and the increasingly risk averse culture. A number of differences to the German system can be found; one such difference relates to the role of criminal responsibility which is irrelevant for decisions regarding commitment in England and Wales. Only the mental state and need for treatment at the time of trial (or later assessment in prison) determine whether an offender is admitted to psychiatric care or receives a prison sentence. A number of new initiatives have been launched in recent years resulting in an increasing number of individuals being detained in forensic psychiatric and criminal justice institutions, in particular the initiative for the detention and treatment of individuals with so-called dangerous and severe personality disorders, the sexual offenders register and the new sentence of indeterminate imprisonment for public protection. These initiatives have been the subject of a number of complaints to the European Court of Human Rights. Nevertheless, the trend towards a more and more risk averse culture continues.     

Training propositional reasoning

Two experiments compared the effects of four training conditions on propositional reasoning. A syntactic training demonstrated formal derivations, in an abstract semantic training the standard truth-table definitions of logical connectives were explained, and a domain-specific semantic training provided thematic contexts for the premises of the reasoning task. In a control training, an inductive reasoning task was practised. In line with the account by mental models, both kinds of semantic training were significantly more effective than the control and the syntactic training, whereas there were no significant differences between the control and the syntactic training, nor between the two kinds of semantic training. Experiment 2 replicated this pattern of effects using a different set of syntactic and domain-specific training conditions.     

Acceptability and Feasibility of Peer Assisted Supervision and Support for Intervention Practitioners: A Q-methodology Evaluation

Evidence-based interventions often include quality improvement methods to support fidelity and improve client outcomes. Clinical supervision is promoted as an effective way of developing practitioner confidence and competence in delivery; however, supervision is often inconsistent and embedded in hierarchical line management structures that may limit the opportunity for reflective learning. The Peer Assisted Supervision and Support (PASS) supervision model uses peer relationships to promote the self-regulatory capacity of practitioners to improve intervention delivery. The aim of the present study was to assess the acceptability and feasibility of PASS amongst parenting intervention practitioners. A Q-methodology approach was used to generate data and 30 practitioners volunteered to participate in the study. Data were analyzed and interpreted using standard Q-methodology procedures and by-person factor analysis yielded three factors. There was consensus that PASS was acceptable. Participants shared the view that PASS facilitated an environment of support where negative aspects of interpersonal relationships that might develop in supervision were not evident. Two factors represented the viewpoint that PASS was also a feasible model of supervision. However, the third factor was comprised of practitioners who reported that PASS could be time consuming and difficult to fit into existing work demands. There were differences across the three factors in the extent to which practitioners considered PASS impacted on their intervention delivery. The findings highlight the importance of organizational mechanisms that support practitioner engagement in supervision.     

Digital Stress over the Life Span: The Effects of Communication Load and Internet Multitasking on Perceived Stress and Psychological Health Impairments in a German Probability Sample

The present study investigated the psychological health effects and motivational origins of digital stress based on a representative survey of 1,557 German Internet users between 14 and 85 years of age. Communication load resulting from private e-mails and social media messages as well as Internet multitasking were positively related to perceived stress and had significant indirect effects on burnout, depression, and anxiety. Perceived social pressure and the fear of missing out on information and social interaction were key drivers of communication load and Internet multitasking. Age significantly moderated the health effects of digital stress as well as the motivational drivers of communication load and Internet multitasking. The results, thus, underline the need to address digital stress from a life span perspective.