Test anxiety,working memory,and cognitive performance: Supportive effects of sequential demands

Substantial evidence suggests that test anxiety is associated with poor performance in complex tasks. Based on the differentiation of coordinative and sequential demands on working memory (Mayr & Kliegl, 1993), two studies examined the effects of sequential demands on the relationship between test anxiety and cognitive performance. Both studies found that high sequential demands had beneficial effects on the speed and accuracy of the performance of test-anxious participants. It is suggested that the more frequent memory updates associated with high sequential demands may represent external processing aids that compensate for the restricted memory capacity of individuals with high test anxiety.     

Ein Kontrollzwang und seine Therapie

Das folgende nachempfundene Erlebnisprotokoll zeigt einen kurzen Ausschnitt aus dem Leidensweg einer Patientin mit Kontrollzw?ngen. Es handelt sich dabei um eine schwere St?rung, welche die Lebensqualit?t der Betroffenen stark beeintr?chtigen kann. In einem solchen Fall ist eine Psychotherapie unerl?sslich. Die Methode der Wahl ist dabei die Verhaltenstherapie.     

Training psychiatric teams to do family systems acute psychiatry

This article presents an account of a comprehensive eighteen‐day, multi‐team, multidisciplinary training approach to family systems inpatient acute psychiatry. It has been developed and tested as part of the SYMPA project (systems therapy in acute psychiatry), which aims to establish systemic case conceptualizations and interventions as routine practice in acute psychiatry. Content, didactic characteristics and specifications of this training are discussed. To illustrate the practical implementation of the training, specifically designed exercises are described and a clinical case is included. The article concludes by presenting first results of the research on implementation indicating that the training had a significant impact on the quantity and quality of conversations with patients.