Psychosis in German prisoners: Comparison of the clinical appearance of psychotic disorder of an imprisoned population with a not detained community group

Surveys confirm risk factors for the incarceration of patients with psychosis including homelessness and comorbidity. There is also agreement that severe psychosis can lead to violence. Data describing prisoners with psychosis in Germany are scarce. We aimed to compare patients with psychosis in a prison hospital and patients with psychosis in a community hospital. Demographic data were collected, as well as comorbidity in the form of substance dependence and a psychiatric assessment using the German version of the 18-item Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). In the prison hospital group more patients were homeless (17 versus 2%) and non-German (36 versus 4%). There were also more patients with substance dependence or abuse in the prison hospital group. The total scores of BPRS and PANSS were lower in the prison hospital group (BPRS, 43.8 versus 51.2; PANSS, 71.5 versus 83.7). We assume that social disintegration for mentally disturbed offenders prior to incarceration hindered effective treatment. To avoid further social disintegration and possible further deterioration of mental health status of released offenders, which may lead to reoffending after imprisonment, discharge management after release from prison should be improved.     

Beyond Pleasure: Exploring the Eudaimonic Entertainment Experience

We examine the notion of eudaimonic entertainment during exposure to a sad but meaningful movie, using a new measure consisting of 5 dimensions derived from research on positive psychology. We, thereby, transfer the conception of eudaimonic well‐being to the conception of entertainment. Results of a confirmatory factor analysis show that the 5 dimensions can be further condensed into 2 second‐order factors. We applied these new measures in a study in which the ending of a movie was manipulated (sad vs. happy). The results provide both discriminant and convergent validity and show that hedonic entertainment measures were affected by the manipulation, but that eudaimonic entertainment measures were unaffected. A second study provided further evidence for the validity of the construct.     

Testing theories of post-error slowing

People tend to slow down after they make an error. This phenomenon, generally referred to as post-error slowing, has been hypothesized to reflect perceptual distraction, time wasted on irrelevant processes, an a priori bias against the response made in error, increased variability in a priori bias, or an increase in response caution. Although the response caution interpretation has dominated the empirical literature, little research has attempted to test this interpretation in the context of a formal process model. Here, we used the drift diffusion model to isolate and identify the psychological processes responsible for post-error slowing. In a very large lexical decision data set, we found that post-error slowing was associated with an increase in response caution and-to a lesser extent-a change in response bias. In the present data set, we found no evidence that post-error slowing is caused by perceptual distraction or time wasted on irrelevant processes. These results support a response-monitoring account of post-error slowing.     

Social projection between theory and simulation

The dialectic between simulation theory and theory theory is a powerful source of energy for the study of the problem of other minds. In social psychology, theories of social projection have generated a large body of research showing that people readily generalize from themselves to others. Only when compelling other information is available do they take it into account and rely less on projection. Social projection, which is a form of mental simulation, ascribes psychological primacy to the self. In contrast, theory theory subordinates self-knowledge to general knowledge. Bazinger and Kühberger (in press) suggest that the role of theory is neglected in social psychology. I respond that this is indeed so, and for good reason.     

Social support from fellow group members triggers additional effort in groups

This research demonstrates social support from fellow group members as unique trigger of additional effort and performance in groups. Support‐induced effort gains are shown both compared with groups without social support and individual work. Study 1 examined existing beliefs about motivating group work among employees with professional group work experience (n = 130). The results revealed social support as one of the most frequently reported sources of group‐induced effort gains. Study 2 explored self‐reported effort intentions in group training scenarios among athletes (n = 94). Finally, Study 3 examined performance as a manifest indicator of effort in an experimental persistence task among students (n = 88). The results of Study 2 and Study 3 showed significant gains due to social support in both self‐reported effort and manifest performance, respectively. Together, the results demonstrate that receiving social support from fellow group members leads to higher effort in groups at the level of existing beliefs about motivating group work, at the level of effort intentions, and at the level of manifest performance behavior. The observed findings cannot be explained by established sources of motivation gains in groups such as social comparison or social indispensability. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.