Vergleich zweier diagnostischer Ans?tze zur Erfassung der Sexualfantasien p?dophiler M?nner

Two diagnostic approaches to measure sexual fantasies, the Wilson Sexual Fantasy Questionnaire (WSFQ; Wilson 1988, Sex Marital Ther 3:45) as a quantitative self-report measure and the qualitative content analysis categories for the fantasy content, have been examined regarding their quality and capability for identifying pedophilic fantasies. For this purpose 33 men from the general community were selected and compared with 24 adult men from the project ??Kein Täter werden?? (avoid being a perpetrator) at the Institute of Sexology and Sexual Medicine, Charité Clinical Center, Berlin, all fulfilling diagnostic criteria of pedophilia according to DSM-IV-TR (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition, Text Revision) (American Psychiatric Association 2000, Washington). The examination revealed that the reliability of the WSFQ scales (Cronbach??s ??) varied between moderate and good. The interrater reliability coefficients of content analysis categories ranged between moderate and predominantly good and very good. The WSFQ identified a generalized impersonal character only as a main feature of pedophilic fantasies and proved to have limited capability for identification of specific contents of sexual fantasies of persons with these diagnoses. In contrast, content analysis categories allowed identification of a set of specific features of the fantasized partners, pedophilic men and the sexual contacts in addition to the age and prepubertal body of a preferential partner which might be traced back to the preference for prepubertal age. Replication studies are necessary for evaluation of the current findings on the basis of a representative sample of men with pedophilia. These findings might be of primary use for the diagnosis of pedophilia.     

Effects of task-irrelevant texture motion on time-to-contact judgments

We investigated the effect of local texture motion on time-to-contact (TTC) estimation. In Experiment 1, observers estimated the TTC of a looming disk with a spiral texture pattern in a prediction-motion task. Rotation of the spiral texture in a direction causing illusory contraction resulted in a significant TTC overestimation, relative to a condition without texture rotation. This would be consistent with an intrusion of task-irrelevant local upon task-relevant global information. However, illusory expansion did not cause a relative TTC underestimation but rather also a tendency towards overestimation. In Experiment 2, a vertical cylinder moved on the frontoparallel plane. Observers judged its TTC with a finish line. The cylinder was textured with stripes oriented in parallel to its longitudinal axis. It was either not rotating, rotating such that the stripes moved towards the finish line (i.e., in the same direction as the contour), or rotating such that the stripes moved away from the finish line. Both types of texture motion caused TTC overestimation compared to the static condition. Experiment 3 showed that the different effects of task-relevant and task-irrelevant texture motion are not a mere procedural effect of the prediction-motion task. In conclusion, task-irrelevant local motion and global motion are neither averaged in a simple manner nor are they processed independently.     

Nonproportional sampling and the amplification of correlations

A theoretical analysis shows that sample correlations between two binary variables will be inflated when the frequency distributions of the two variables are flatter (i.e., closer to equal frequencies for the two values) in the sample than in the population. A correlation-assessment study in which participants were free to choose their own sample revealed an overwhelming preference for samples that included roughly the same number of observations for the two values of dichotomous variables, irrespective of their actual distribution in the population. Subjective estimates of observed correlations followed the sample correlations--which were inflated, as predicted--more closely than the true correlations. People's sampling behavior thus resembles that of a research designer who maximizes the chance of detecting a relationship, at the cost of diminished accuracy in estimating its strength.     

Is the focus of attention in working memory expanded through practice?

This article reinvestigates the claim by P. Verhaeghen, J. Cerella, and C. Basak (2004) that the focus of attention in working memory can be expanded from 1 to 4 items through practice. Using a modified version of Verhaeghen et al.'s n-back paradigm, Experiments 1 and 3 show that a signature of a one-item focus, the time cost for switching between items in working memory, persists over practice. Verhaeghen et al. reported a shift over practice from a step function to a linear slope of reaction times over set size and argued that it reflects the expansion of the focus. With an improved counterbalancing scheme, a continuously increasing slope was found even without practice in Experiment 2. The results question the hypothesis that the focus is expanded through practice. They are in line with predictions from a model that distinguishes a one-item focus from a direct-access region holding about 4 items.     

Does decision quality (always) increase with the size of information samples? Some vicissitudes in applying the law of large numbers

Adaptive decision making requires that contingencies between decision options and their relative assets be assessed accurately and quickly. The present research addresses the challenging notion that contingencies may be more visible from small than from large samples of observations. An algorithmic account for such a seemingly paradoxical effect is offered within a satisficing-choice framework. Accordingly, a choice is only made when the sample contingency describing the relative evaluation of the 2 options exceeds a critical threshold. Small samples, because of the high dispersion of their sampling distribution, facilitate above-threshold contingencies. Across a broad range of parameters, the resulting small-sample advantage in terms of hits is stronger than their disadvantage in false alarms. Computer simulations and experiments support the model predictions. The relative advantage of small samples is most apparent when information loss is low, when the threshold is high relative to the ecological contingency, and when the sampling process is self-truncated.     

The effect of caffeine on handwriting movements in skilled writers

In laboratory tasks, caffeine has been shown to improve psychomotor performance. The aim of the present experiment was to assess the effects of caffeine on a skilled everyday life task in habitual caffeine consumers. The assessment of handwriting movements of 20 adults was performed following the administration of 0mg/kg (placebo), 1.5mg/kg, 3.0mg/kg or 4.5mg/kg of caffeine. A digitising tablet was used for the assessment of fine motor movements. Participants were asked to perform a simple writing task. Kinematic analysis of handwriting movements showed that, in comparison to placebo administration, high doses of caffeine (i.e., 4.5mg/kg) can produce improvements in handwriting as indicated by more fluent handwriting movements as well as an increase in maximum velocity and maximum positive and negative accelerations. The results suggest that higher doses of caffeine can enhance psychomotor performance.     

Effectiveness of inpatient dialectical behavioral therapy for borderline personality disorder: a controlled trial

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) was initially developed and evaluated as an outpatient treatment program for chronically suicidal individuals meeting criteria for borderline personality disorder (BPD). Within the last few years, several adaptations to specific settings have been developed. This study aims to evaluate a three-month DBT inpatient treatment program. Clinical outcomes, including changes on measures of psychopathology and frequency of self-mutilating acts, were assessed for 50 female patients meeting criteria for BPD. Thirty-one patients had participated in a DBT inpatient program, and 19 patients had been placed on a waiting list and received treatment as usual in the community. Post-testing was conducted four months after the initial assessment (i.e. four weeks after discharge for the DBT group). Pre-post-comparison showed significant changes for the DBT group on 10 of 11 psychopathological variables and significant reductions in self-injurious behavior. The waiting list group did not show any significant changes at the four-months point. The DBT group improved significantly more than participants on the waiting list on seven of the nine variables analyzed, including depression, anxiety, interpersonal functioning, social adjustment, global psychopathology and self-mutilation. Analyses based on Jacobson's criteria for clinically relevant change indicated that 42% of those receiving DBT had clinically recovered on a general measure of psychopathology. The data suggest that three months of inpatient DBT treatment is significantly superior to non-specific outpatient treatment. Within a relatively short time frame, improvement was found across a broad range of psychopathological features. Stability of the recovery after one month following discharge, however, was not evaluated and requires further study.     

On the development of the mental number line: more, less, or never holistic with increasing age?

Magnitude is assumed to be represented along a holistic mental number line in adults. However, the authors recently observed a unit-decade compatibility effect for 2-digit numbers that is inconsistent with this "holisticness" assumption (H.-C. Nuerk, U. Weger, & K. Willmes, 2001). This study used the compatibility effect to examine whether the mental number line representation of magnitude changes toward greater or less holisticness in children from Grades 2-5. The results indicate that decades and units of 2-digit numbers are processed separately rather than holistically from Grade 2 on. However, this separate processing seems to develop from a more sequential (left-to-right) to a more parallel processing mode. Moreover, children may use different strategies depending on task demands. The results are interpreted in the framework of Siegler's overlapping waves model.