Open-source software to conduct online rating studies

Several software programs exist to assist researchers in setting up online questionnaires. Existing tools are of little help for delivering online rating studies, for which it is often desirable to collect data from participants for only a subset of a stimulus set. OR-Vis enables researchers to quickly set up online rating studies by supplying the set of items to be rated, the number of stimuli an individual participant responds to, the number of participants an item is shown to, and the rating questions. The software then generates and delivers unique questionnaires for each participant, while managing the data collection process. The present article describes OR-Vis, its installation process, and how to use it to gather data. OR-Vis is open-source software and can be downloaded from www.orvis.uni-muenster.de.     

Die Entwicklung der Rechtsprechung zur nachträglichen Sicherungsverwahrung seit 2006

Since 2006, the development of the jurisdiction concerning the subsequent preventive detention has kept the continuity of the first decisions by the German Federal Supreme Court. An imprisonment according to the new law standards was decreed only in a few cases. The legislator’s attempts to enlarge its use by introduction of § 66b I 2 German penal code in substance were ineffective, because both the German Federal Supreme Court and the Federal Constitutional Court has viewed the law as constitutional, only, if its use is limited to a few “extreme cases”. Further difficulties appeared by the injunction of the subsequent preventive detention due to an acquittal statement of a hospital order treatment. At this some questions still remain unanswered.     

Sunscreens with Titanium Dioxide (TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>) Nano-Particles: A Societal Experiment

The risks of novel technologies, such as nano(bio)technology cannot be fully assessed due to the existing uncertainties surrounding their introduction into society. Consequently, the introduction of innovative technologies can be conceptualised as a societal experiment, which is a helpful approach to evaluate moral acceptability. This approach is illustrated with the marketing of sunscreens containing nano-sized titanium dioxide (TiO₂) particles. We argue that the marketing of this TiO₂ nanomaterial in UV protective cosmetics is ethically undesirable, since it violates four reasonable moral conditions for societal experimentation (absence of alternatives, controllability, limited informed consent, and continuing evaluation). To remedy the current way nano-sized TiO₂ containing sunscreens are utilised, we suggest five complementing actions (closing the gap, setup monitoring tools, continuing review, designing for safety, and regulative improvements) so that its marketing can become more acceptable.     

Dehumanization and Guilt as Distinct but Related Predictors of Support for Reparation Policies

In two studies, we predicted that support for reparation policies would be influenced positively by feelings of group-based guilt and negatively by dehumanization of the outgroup. We also hypothesized that a valence manipulation of the ingroup's behavior would cause differences in such support which would be mediated by guilt. In the first study, we manipulated the valence of past ingroup behavior and assessed guilt, dehumanization, and reparation support. As expected, guilt predicted positively and dehumanization negatively participants' support. In addition, guilt partially mediated the manipulation effects on policy support. Consistent with previous research, guilt and dehumanization were unrelated. In Study 2, we assessed individual differences in dehumanization before the manipulation and examined their associations with guilt and reparation support. Initial analyses replicated Study 1. In addition, guilt partially mediated the influence of dehumanization on reparation support. Results suggest that the presence of guilt motivates support for reparation policies, while the absence of guilt explains in part why individual differences in dehumanization inhibit such support.     

Clock drawing performance and brain morphology in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease

The Clock Drawing Test (CDT) is a widely used instrument in the neuropsychological assessment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). As CDT performance necessitates several cognitive functions (e.g., visuospatial and constructional abilities, executive functioning), an interaction of multiple brain regions is likely. Fifty-one subjects with mild cognitive impairment, 23 with AD and 15 healthy controls underwent high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging. Optimized voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was performed to investigate the putative association between CDT performance and gray matter (GM) density throughout the entire brain. In the first step of analysis (p<.001, uncorrected), VBM revealed a reduced GM density in numerous cortical (temporal lobe, frontal lobe, parietal lobe, cerebellum) and subcortical (thalamus, basal ganglia) brain regions to be associated with poorer CDT performance. When corrected for multiple comparisons (p<.01), the associations remained significant predominantly in the left temporal and--less pronounced--the right temporal lobe. VBM demonstrated CDT performance to depend on the integrity of widely distributed cortical and subcortical areas in both brain hemispheres with accentuation in the left-sided temporal lobe region.     

When positive and negative expectancies disrupt performance: regulatory focus as a catalyst

The present research investigates the impact of negative and positive stereotypic expectancies on cognitive test performance. A theoretical framework that relates expectancy effects to self‐regulatory processes as postulated by Regulatory Focus Theory (RFT) is presented. Building on the differential sensitivity hypothesis proposed in this theoretical model, we argue that when self‐regulation in a prevention focus is activated individuals are particularly sensitive with regard to negative cues and therefore negative expectancies are likely to result in poor test performance due to an apprehension about meeting minimal goal standards. Conversely, when self‐regulation is guided by a promotion focus individuals are particularly sensitive with regard to positive cues and hence likely to show impaired performance when confronted with positive expectancies due to an apprehension about meeting maximal goal standards. The results of four experiments, relying on both situational and chronic regulatory focus, support these assumptions. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Prevention-focused self-regulation and aggressiveness

The present research examined the relationship between individual differences in self-regulatory mechanisms as outlined in regulatory focus theory (promotion- and prevention-focused self-regulation) and aggressiveness. Two studies revealed that the more individuals’ habitual self-regulatory orientation is dominated by a prevention-focus, the more likely they are to score high on measures of cynical hostility, reciprocity norm endorsement, and aggressiveness. An additional study involving the manipulation of perceived violation of a reciprocity norm showed that predominantly prevention-focused participants were particularly sensitive to the experience of a norm violation and reacted in a hostile and aggressive manner following the norm violation experience. Findings indicate that a prevention-focused style of self-regulation is associated with aggressiveness and suggest that endorsement of (negative) reciprocity norms and sensitivity to norm violations are relevant factors that help explain the differences in aggressiveness observed among individuals with a predominantly prevention-focused style of self-regulation.     

Sexuell übergriffiges und aggressives Verhalten im Kindesalter Einflüsse entwicklungsrelevanter Faktoren

During the last years increasing attention has been paid to young children and adolescents with sexual coercive behaviour. During the year 2007 altogether 232 boys and 30 girls under the age of 14 years were reported to the police because of sexual assaults. In NRW an increasing number of in- and out-patient institutions offers specific and unspecific treatment programs for these children. The major aim of our study, which is supported by the Ministry of Employment, Health and Social Affairs of the state of NRW, is to evaluate the wide range of different treatment programs and to find predictors for successful or difficult treatment outcomes. Furthermore we are interested in differences between children with sexual problem behaviour and children with exclusively aggressive problems. So far 23 institutions take part in our research project and our total sample currently consists of 75 boys between 9 - 15 years. A psychometric test battery is applied at the beginning of individual treatment. Our first results highlight differences in socio-demographic data between children with sexual coercive behaviour and children with exclusively aggressive behaviour problems. Compared to children with exclusively aggressive problem behaviour, children with sexual problem behaviour come more often from incomplete families with no male parent, have experienced more psychological and physical violence and have been more often victims of sexual abuse. Compared to children with exclusively aggressive behaviour problems they score significantly higher on the “Depression / Anxiety” scale of the SPS-J, although average T-scores for both groups are within the normal range. Regarding cognitive functioning there are no significant differences between both groups.     

The moderator effect that wasn't there: statistical problems in ambivalence research

Ambivalence researchers often collapse separate measures of positivity and negativity into a single numerical index of ambivalence and refer to it as objective, operative, or potential ambivalence. The authors argue that this univariate approach to ambivalence models undermines the validity of subsequent statistical analyses because it confounds the effects of the index and its components. To remedy this situation, they demonstrate how the assumptions underlying the indices derived from the conflicting reactions model and similarity-intensity model can be tested using a multivariate approach to ambivalence models. On the basis of computer simulations and reanalyses of published moderator effects, the authors show that the frequently reported moderating influence of ambivalence on attitude effects may be a statistical artifact resulting from unmodeled correlations of positivity and negativity with attitude and the dependent variable. On the basis of extensive power analyses, they conclude that it may be extremely difficult to detect moderator effects of ambivalence in observational data. Therefore, they encourage ambivalence researchers to take an experimental approach to study design and a multivariate approach to data analysis.     

Olfactory predator recognition in predator-naïve gray mouse lemurs (Microcebus murinus)

Olfactory cues of predators, such as feces, are known to elicit antipredator responses in animals (e.g., avoidance, activity). To date, however, there is little information on olfactory predator recognition in primates. We tested whether the odor of feces of different predator categories (historical Malagasy predators and introduced predators) and of Malagasy nonpredators (control) induces antipredator behavior in captive born, predator-na?ve gray mouse lemurs. In an olfactory predator experiment a mouse lemur was exposed to a particular odor, fixed at a preferred location, where the animal was trained to get a reward. The behavior of the mouse lemur toward the respective stimulus category was videotaped and quantified. Results showed that mouse lemurs avoided the place of odor presentation when the odor belonged to a predator. They reacted with a significantly enhanced activity when exposed to odors of carnivores compared to those of nonpredatory controls. These findings are in favor of a genetic predisposition of olfactory predator recognition that might be based on the perception of metabolites from meat digestion.