Anfänge und Entwicklung der Leistungsmotivation: (II.) in der Zielsetzung des Kleinkindes

Ohne ZusammenfassungDiese Arbeit ist Herrn Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Metzger zum 65. Geburtstag gewidmet.     

Kooperatives Lernen mit Videokonferenzen: Gemeinsame Wissenskonstruktion und individueller Lernerfolg

Summary. Desktop video conferencing enables learners to cooperate while being spatially apart, and to communicate synchronously while working on a collaborative task. Yet, little is known about both the collaborative knowledge construction in these technological settings and the adequate methods of supporting this activity. Therefore, we conducted an empirical study with the following research questions: (1) To what extent does the mode of dyadic collaboration (net-based vs. face-to-face) and the kind of structural support (content-specific vs. content-unspecific) influence the collaborative knowledge construction? (2) To what extent do these factors influence both the individual learning outcomes and the dyadic divergence of learning partners' individual outcomes? Analyzing mean values of collaborative knowledge construction and learning outcome variables, we did not find differences between face-to-face and videoconferencing groups. However, the dyadic divergence of learning partners' individual transfer knowledge was influenced by the learning conditions. The results of this exploratory study are discussed in their relevance for future research on cooperative learning and videoconferencing. Zusammenfassung. Videokonferenzsysteme ermöglichen es, dass sich Lernpartner an verschiedenen Orten aufhalten und bei der Bearbeitung einer gemeinsamen Aufgabe zeitgleich über eine audiovisuelle Verbindung miteinander kommunizieren. Bislang ist kaum untersucht, wie Lernende in videokonferenzbasierten Lernumgebungen gemeinsam Wissen konstruieren und welche Formen instruktionaler Unterstützung dafür angemessen sind. In einer empirischen Untersuchung sind wir deshalb u. a. folgenden Fragestellungen nachgegangen: (1) Inwieweit beeinflussen der Kooperationsmodus (Netz vs. Face-to-face) und die Art des Struktu (inhaltsspezifisch vs. inhaltsunspezifisch) die gemeinsame Wissenskonstruktion? (2) Inwieweit beeinflussen der Kooperationsmodus (Netz vs. Face-to-face) und die Art des Strukturangebots (inhaltsspezifisch vs. inhaltsunspezifisch) den individuellen Lernerfolg und die Divergenz des individuellen Lernerfolgs zwischen den Lernpartnern? Im Mittel fanden sich weder Unterschiede im Hinblick auf die Merkmale der gemeinsamen Wissenskonstruktion noch hinsichtlich des individuellen Lernerfolgs zwischen Face-to-face- und Videokonferenz-Bedingungen. Es zeigte sich jedoch, dass sich die Divergenz des Lernerfolges in den verschiedenen Treatmentgruppen unterschied: Lernende, die in der Videokonferenz-Bedingung in derselben Dyade zusammengearbeitet hatten und dabei von dem inhaltsunspezifischen Strukturangebot unterstützt worden waren, waren sich im Lernerfolg weitaus ähnlicher als Lernende derselben Dyaden in den anderen experimentellen Gruppen. Die Befunde dieser explorativen Studie werden in ihrer Bedeutung für weitere Studien des Lernens mit Videokonferenzen und des kooperativen Lernens diskutiert.     

The assessment of surgery-related coping: The coping with surgical stress scale (COSS)

Abstract

Surgery can be regarded as a major stressor for any patient. High preoperative emotional arousal may negatively influence adjustment during surgery as well as the postoperative recovery rate. Consequently, the strategies individuals employ for coping with this stress are of prime importance for the quality of their adaptation. This paper reports the construction and empirical assessment of a new instrument for measuring strategies employed to cope with surgical stress. Factor analysis of this instrument, the Coping with Surgical Stress Scale (COSS), yielded five factors: Rumination, Optimism and Trust, Turning to Social and Religious Resources, Threat Avoidance, and Information Seeking. Internal consistencies of the corresponding subscales were satisfactory. Results concerning external relationships of the COSS with dispositional coping, state and trait anxiety, and indicators of perioperative adjustment showed that the COSS is a useful instrument for measuring surgery-related coping.     

The explosion of the present and the encapsulation of time: Transference phenomena in the analysis of a psychotic patient

The paper deals with some basic problems concerning the experience of time and space in the psychoanalytic treatment of psychotic patients. Whereas borderline patients tend to distort the experience of time and space under emotional pressure, the concepts of time and space seem to dissolve in acute psychotic states of mind. Sometimes this manifests itself in an explosion of the present, where the past is ubiquitous and the future is perceived as the end of all times. The case of a 48 year‐old patient with the external diagnosis of ‘paranoid–hallucinatory schizophrenia’ is presented to illustrate that the main task is to recreate a structure to contain the experience of space and time. Such a development may occur if primitive psychotic anxieties can be taken up and metabolized. A near‐psychotic decompensation before the first break and the development of a transference psychosis in the second year of the analysis are depicted in detail. Subsequently some developments became visible which helped the patient to better tolerate catastrophic fears of loss. This included the formation of a structure which the patient called ‘hibernation’ enabling her to psychically survive without falling apart. By retreating into her ‘time capsule’ she managed to overcome breaks and to delay her fears of fragmentation until they could be taken up and worked through in the transference. The creation of a structure like the patient's ‘time capsule’ is considered to be an attempt to construct the experience of time and space. It prevented a collapse of her internal space thereby enabling further steps towards thinking and symbolization. In conclusion, some theoretical and clinical aspects are discussed including the role of the countertransference.     

The cognitive regulation of emotions: The role of success versus failure experience and coping dispositions

Attention deployment and generating specific types of cognitions are central cognitive mechanisms of emotion regulation. Two groups of hypotheses make contradicting predictions about the emotion-cognition relationship. The moodcongruency hypothesis expects the emergence of mood-congruent cognitions (i.e., negative mood leads to negative and positive mood to positive cognitions). Similarly, a substantial body of research suggests that negative mood induces selffocus, whereas positive mood elicits an external focus of attention. The moodrepair hypothesis, on the other hand, assumes that persons in a negative mood state summon thoughts incongruent with that state and divert attention away from the self. However, the temporal sequence of cognitions assessed as well as coping dispositions, such as vigilance and cognitive avoidance, may moderate these relationships. Positive and negative emotional states were elicited by exposing the participants to the experience of success or failure in a demanding cognitive task. Cognitions that were present after emotion induction were assessed by means of a thought-listing procedure. For the total sample, results clearly confirmed the moodcongruency hypothesis. Thought order was a critical factor only for changes in self-focus. Thought valence (positive, neutral, negative) as well as self-focus were substantially influenced by coping dispositions.     

American Military Veteran Entrepreneurs: A Comprehensive Profile of Demographic,Service History,and Psychosocial Characteristics

American military veterans are nearly twice as likely to be self-employed compared with nonveterans and are majority owners in 9% of all businesses nationwide. Despite their contribution to the broader economy and the potential for training programs to cultivate and foster successful self-employment and veteran-lead entrepreneurial ventures, research on veteran entrepreneurs remains limited. To gain a better understanding of the potential strengths and vulnerabilities of veteran entrepreneurs, the current study utilized data from a large, nationally representative sample to profile self-employed veterans (n = 230) and compare them with veterans who work as employees (n = 1,055) with respect to demographic, military service history, and psychosocial characteristics. Results indicated that self-employed veterans were older and more educated and more likely to utilize U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) health care. Self-employed veterans were more likely to serve in Vietnam and to serve in the military for fewer years. No differences were noted in perceived military experience, level of combat exposure, or military branch served as a function of self-employment. Although reporting more lifetime traumas, self-employed veterans did not experience higher rates of current or lifetime psychopathology or lower perceived quality of life. Potential protective resilience-promoting factors may be associated with the higher levels of openness, extraversion, optimism, achievement-orientation (purpose in life), and greater need for autonomy and professional development observed among self-employed veterans. Moreover, self-employed veterans demonstrated higher levels of gratitude, community integration, and altruistic service to others. Findings have potential to inform human resources management strategies and vocational training and reintegration initiatives for veterans.