How Emotional Stability and Openness to Experience Support Invention: A Study with German Independent Inventors

How does invention depend on personality? Do inventors differ from noninventors? This study investigated the personal factors influencing a sample of independent inventors in Germany (N = 69). Standardized psychological questionnaires were employed to assess the Big Five personality dimensions, willingness to take risks, self-concept, and self-efficacy. For a comparison with noninventors, scores from reference samples were taken. Hypotheses were formulated based on research into creativity and entrepreneurship and the normative DABEI Stage Model of invention. As expected, the independent inventors showed higher levels of extraversion and openness to experience. In addition, independent inventors stood out in terms of emotional stability (low neuroticism scores). Surprisingly, in this sample success as an inventor correlated negatively with openness to experience. The interpretation is along the lines that inventors may work in a focused manner and technical implementation of an innovative idea may be optimized with great persistence. Discussion centers around the generalizability of the results.     

Apparatus for Smoking Kymograph Drum Papers

In a computer simulation study, random samples from a uniform density were substituted for each of two independent samples from normal and various nonnormal densities. This procedure was compared with conventional ranking and with Bell and Doksum's (1965) procedure, which substituted random normal deviates for initial sample values. After performing the Student t test, the program transformed the initial scores and performed additional t tests on ranks, random uniform scores, and random normal scores. For several distributions, the test on random normal scores was more powerful than the others, consistent with known asymptotic results. The probabilities of Type I and Type II errors of the test on random uniform scores were nearly the same as those of the Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon test, for all distributions examined.     

An Exchange on Franz,Rowse, and Ballantine (2002)

Using a dynamical systems perspective on motor behavior, it was predicted that interlimb coordination of running and galloping would behave like coupled, nonlinear, limit-cycle oscillators, which show the properties of phase locking, entrainment, and structural stability. Female subjects ranging in age from 2.5 years to adult were filmed while running and galloping with and without a weight perturbation. Analysis of both temporal- and amplitude-phasing measures revealed that both gaits demonstrated oscillatory properties. Differences between gaits and across age were primarily a matter of degree. In general, children 4 years of age and below had slightly less stable phasing patterns, and all age groups showed slightly less stability in the gallop, particularly with amplitude phasing.     

Consciousness,Power and sacrifice: Conversations with Marie-Louise von Franz

Marie-Louise von Franz has long been regarded as one of the leading thinkers in the world of Jungian psychology. In this wide-ranging conversation, which took place in her home at Kusnacht, Switzerland, she discusses some trends in current-day spiritual movements within the broader context of the historical evolution of consciousness in religion and psychology. Her message is particularly appropriate for those who are working toward the resolution of conflict between nations, as well as for anyone who is on an inner path of Self development.     

Applying evidence to support ethical decisions: Is the placebo really powerless?

Using placebos in day-to-day practice is an ethical problem. This paper summarises the available epidemiological evidence to support this difficult decision. Based on these data we propose to differentiate between placebo and “knowledge framing”. While the use of placebo should be confined to experimental settings in clinical trials, knowledge framing — which is only conceptually different from placebo — is a desired, expected and necessary component of any doctor-patient encounter. Examples from daily practice demonstrate both, the need to investigate the effects of knowledge framing and its impact on ethical, medical, economical and legal decisions. An earlier version of this paper was presented at an international conference, “Placebo: Its Action and Place in Health Research Today,” held in Warsaw, Poland on 12–13 April, 2003.     

Zur Problematik der naturwissenschaftlichen Verwendung des subjektiven Wahrscheinlichkeitsbegriffs

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Personality in cyberspace: personal Web sites as media for personality expressions and impressions

This research examined the personality of owners of personal Web sites based on self-reports, visitors' ratings, and the content of the Web sites. The authors compared a large sample of Web site owners with population-wide samples on the Big Five dimensions of personality. Controlling for demographic differences, the average Web site owner reported being slightly less extraverted and more open to experience. Compared with various other samples, Web site owners did not generally differ on narcissism, self-monitoring, or self-esteem, but gender differences on these traits were often smaller in Web site owners. Self-other agreement was highest with Openness to Experience, but valid judgments of all Big Five dimensions were derived from Web sites providing rich information. Visitors made use of quantifiable features of the Web site to infer personality, and the cues they utilized partly corresponded to self-reported traits.     

Therapists' group attachments and their expectations of patients' attitudes about group therapy

A large body of literature has supported the application of attachment theory to the understanding of psychotherapy. In addition, a more recent social psychological literature is exploring the application of attachment theory to the area of group dynamics and group process. The current study is designed to integrate these two distinct bodies of literature. In a preliminary fashion, we examined the relationship between group therapists' group attachment styles and their assumptions and expectations of their patients' attitudes about group psychotherapy. Seventy-six therapists completed the Smith, Murphy & Coats (1999) measure of group attachment style. They also completed the Revised Group Therapy Survey (Carter, Mitchell, & Krautheim, 2001) from the viewpoint of a typical patient they treat. As hypothesized, therapists with more group attachment anxiety assumed that patients would hold more negative myths and misconceptions about group treatment than therapists with less group attachment anxiety. The utility of a group attachment construct in future research and practice is discussed.     

Effects of pointing direction and direction predictability on event-related lateralizations of the EEG

In two experiments, we investigated hemispheric electroencephalography (EEG) differences in 9(12) healthy volunteers during pointing to lateral and central targets. The questions addressed were whether horizontal pointing direction and the predictability of pointing direction modulated hemispheric differences (event-related lateralizations of the EEG = ERLs). To vary pointing direction predictability, targets were displayed either randomly at one of nine different positions on a screen (random) or at the same horizontal position in five subsequent trials (sequenced) while vertical positions varied randomly. Event-related lateralizations (ERLs) varied with pointing direction. This was true across changes in target eccentricity and pointing distance. Foci of the ERLs were in premotor and posterior parietal cortex, which might reflect the critical involvement of these areas in the control of visually guided reaching. Direction predictability reduced the parietal and premotor ERL before pointing onset, probably reflecting a lesser effort in visuomotor transformation. Predictability also added an overlying N2pc component to the early ERL after target onset and increased direction effects during movement.