Inter-individual and intra-individual variability of the N2 component: On reliability and signal-to-noise ratio

The nogo N2 component, an anterior negative peak supposed to be generated in the anterior cingulate cortex, has been used as an indicator of conflict monitoring and response conflict in basic and clinical research. Here, we investigate the reliability and the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of inter-individual differences of the N2 amplitudes as well as of intra-individual standard deviations of N2 amplitudes. Effects of the number of nogo epochs, type of summary measure (peak vs. average amplitude), and filter cut-offs (1–12 Hz vs. 1–30 Hz) are investigated. A sample of N = 32 participants, performed a go/nogo task. Excellent Cronbach’s alpha coefficients (?.90) were obtained for the fronto-central average N2 amplitude at 40 nogo epochs and for the peak N2 amplitude at 60 nogo epochs. The SNR was higher for the average nogo N2 amplitude compared to the peak N2 amplitude. Split-half reliability coefficients of the intra-individual standard deviation of the nogo N2 amplitudes were at least moderate. Based on these results we provide suggestions for a reliable N2 measurement. Moreover, although intra-individual variability has often been conceived as noise the present findings support the idea that intra-individual N2 variability incorporates systematic variance.     

Role‐Induced Bias in Court: An Experimental Analysis

Criminal procedure is organized as a tournament with predefined roles. We show that assuming the role of a defense counsel or a prosecutor leads to role‐induced bias even if participants are asked to predict a court ruling after they have ceased to act in that role and if they expect a substantial financial incentive for being accurate. The bias is not removed either if participants are instructed to predict the court ruling in preparation of plea bargaining. In line with parallel constraint satisfaction models for legal decision making, findings indicate that role‐induced bias is driven by coherence effects, that is, systematic information distortions in support of the favored option. This is mainly achieved by downplaying the importance of conflicting evidence. These distortions seem to stabilize interpretations, and people do not correct for this bias. Implications for legal procedure are briefly discussed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

My Way to Intercultural Pastoral Care: Experiences and Insights of a German in Brazil

This article informs about basic elements of a method of Intercultural Pastoral Counselling based on experiences in Brazil. In a case study it shows how the method works in counselling poor families in the cultural context of Latin-America. Theological and psychological aspects are discussed. The author asks whether this approach can be useful in other cultural contexts.     

Body height and occupational success for actors and actresses

The association of body height with occupational success has been frequently studied, with previous research mainly finding a positive effect among men and positive or null effects among women. Occupational success has almost exclusively been measured so far by short-term success variables (e.g., annual income). In the present study, the relationship of success and height was examined in a group of actors and actresses using a large online database about movies (Internet Movie Database) where heights of actors and actresses are stated. The number of roles played in movies and television series during each actor's lifetime was used as a measure of long-term occupational success. No height effect was found for male actors but a significant negative effect was found for actresses, even after controlling for possible confounding influences (age and birth year). Compared to the general population, actors and actresses were significantly taller; however, actresses who were shorter than average were more likely to achieve greater occupational success, in terms of being featured in more movies.     

Dreidimensionales Körperbild in der Psychodiagnostik

The body sculpture technique is a procedure in which patients create a three-dimensional model of their own body with modelling clay. This existing technique has been further developed into the modular body sculpture technique and offers a diagnostic approach to the body image. After an introduction in the conceptual foundations of body self-representation the technique is described. Using a case study, advantages for clinical applications are illustrated. Contributions of this technique to a deeper understanding of the structure of body memory are discussed in the context of current cognitive theories.     

Self-deception as pseudo-rational regulation of belief

Self-deception is a special kind of motivational dominance in belief-formation. We develop criteria which set paradigmatic self-deception apart from related phenomena of auto-manipulation such as pretense and motivational bias. In self-deception rational subjects defend or develop beliefs of high subjective importance in response to strong counter-evidence. Self-deceivers make or keep these beliefs tenable by putting prima-facie rational defense-strategies to work against their established standards of rational evaluation. In paradigmatic self-deception, target-beliefs are made tenable via reorganizations of those belief-sets that relate relevant data to target-beliefs. This manipulation of the evidential value of relevant data goes beyond phenomena of motivated perception of data. In self-deception belief-defense is pseudo-rational. Self-deceivers will typically apply a dual standard of evaluation that remains intransparent to the subject. The developed model of self-deception as pseudo-rational belief-defense is empirically anchored. So, we hope to put forward a promising candidate.     

Toward a complete decision model of item and source recognition: A discrete-state approach

In source-monitoring experiments, participants study items from two sources (A and B). At test, they are presented Source A items, Source B items, and new items. They are asked to decide whether a test item is old or new (item memory) and whether it is a Source A or a Source B item (source memory). Hautus, Macmillan, and Rotello (2008) developed models, couched in a bivariate signal detection framework, that account for item and source memory across several data sets collected in a confidence-rating response format. The present article enlarges the set of candidate models with a discrete-state model. The model is a straightforward extension of Bayen, Murnane, and Erdfelder's (1996) multinomial model of source discrimination to confidence ratings. On the basis of the evaluation criteria adopted by Hautus et al., it provides a better account of the data than do Hautus et al.'s models.     

Opportunities for Immigrants’ Acculturation and Identification Varieties

This article elucidates how members of the two largest immigration groups living in Germany (i.e., immigrants with a Russian or Turkish background) deal with and integrate values and practices deriving from their ethnocultural minority group and the larger society. A special emphasis of this article is on how context conditions form opportunities for varieties of acculturation and identification. The pattern of results suggests a taxonomy of immigrants’ acculturation, consisting of Blended Integration, Alternating Integration, Separation, and Dis‐Integration. This taxonomy is based on immigrants’ integration of cultural aspects, while it proved to be analytically useful to conceptualize their national self‐allocation as an additional dimension. Immigrants’ development of these different varieties was found to be linked to their perceptions of compatibility and acceptance by the larger society. Relative to immigrants with a Turkish background, immigrants with a Russian background experience less deep incompatibilities between values and practices deriving from the cultural groups, thus having more latitude for acculturation and integration. In contrast, immigrants with a Turkish background experience more challenges to acculturation and integration as a result of being confronted more frequently with incompatibilities and experience less societal acceptance. Further conceptual and societal implications are discussed.     

Effects of Personalized Banner Ads on Visual Attention and Recognition Memory

Internet companies collect a vast amount of data about their users in order to personalize banner ads. However, very little is known about the effects of personalized banners on attention and memory. In the present study, 48 subjects performed search tasks on web pages containing personalized or nonpersonalized banners. Overt attention was measured by an eye‐tracker, and recognition of banner and task‐relevant information was subsequently examined. The entropy of fixations served as a measure for the overall exploration of web pages. Results confirm the hypotheses that personalization enhances recognition for the content of banners while the effect on attention was weaker and partially nonsignificant. In contrast, overall exploration of web pages and recognition of task‐relevant information was not influenced. The temporal course of fixations revealed that visual exploration of banners typically proceeds from the picture to the logo and finally to the slogan. We discuss theoretical and practical implications. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.