Reasoning and mathematical skills contribute to normatively superior decision making under risk: evidence from the game of dice task

In this study, we assessed to what extent reasoning improves performance in decision making under risk in a laboratory gambling task (Game of Dice Task-Double, GDT-D). We also investigated to what degree individuals with above average mathematical competence decide better than those with average mathematical competence. Eighty-five participants performed the GDT-D and several numerical tasks. Forty-two individuals were asked to calculate the probabilities and the outcomes associated with the different options of the GDT-D before performing it. The other 43 individuals performed the GDT-D at the beginning of the test session. Both reasoning and mathematical competence had a positive effect on decision making. Different measures of mathematical competence correlated with advantageous performance in decision making. Results suggest that decision making under explicit risk conditions improves when individuals are encouraged to reflect about the contingencies of a decision situation. Interventions based on numerical reasoning may also be useful for patients with difficulties in decision making.     

Über Höhenänderungen bei Schwebungen

Ohne Zusammenfassung Mit 2 Textabbildungen.     

What makes multiplication facts difficult. Problem size or neighborhood consistency?

Two current models of arithmetic fact retrieval, the network interference theory (NIT; Campbell, 1995) and the interacting neighbors (IN) model (Verguts & Fias, 2005a), predict that errors in simple multiplication should be more probable, if they include the same digit as the correct result (i.e., if they are "consistent," compared with "inconsistent" errors). In a reanalysis of error data originally reported by Campbell (1997), we provide first empirical evidence for this prediction. Furthermore, these results support the notion of different quantity representations for decades and units as proposed by Nuerk, Weger, and Willmes (2001). However, the NIT and IN-model differ in their explanations of the problem-size effect, a hallmark finding robustly observed in arithmetic fact retrieval. Only the IN-model predicts that a correct answer's neighborhood consistency can fully account for the problem-size effect, which was confirmed in our analysis.     

The relationship between history of violent and criminal behavior and recognition of facial expression of emotions in men with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder

Social psychological research underscores the relation between aggression and emotion. Specifically, regulating negative affect requires the ability to appraise restraint‐producing cues, such as facial signs of anger, fear and other emotions. Individuals diagnosed with major mental disorders are more likely to have engaged in violent behavior than mentally healthy members of the same communities. We examined whether violent and criminal behavior in men with schizophrenia is related to emotion recognition abilities. Forty‐one men with schizophrenia underwent a computerized emotion discrimination test presenting mild and extreme intensities of happy, sad, angry, fearful and neutral faces, balanced for gender and ethnicity. History of violence was assessed by the Life History of Aggression Scale and official records of arrests. Psychopathology was rated using the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale. Criminal behavior was associated with poor emotion recognition, especially for fearful and angry facial expressions. History of aggression was also associated with more severe positive symptoms and less severe negative symptoms. These findings suggest that misinterpretation of social cues such as angry and fearful expression may lead to a failure in socialization and adaptive behavior in response to emotional situation, which may result in a higher number of criminal arrests. Aggr. Behav. 32:1–8, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Management of extended-wear contact lenses in infant rhesus monkeys

Infant rhesus monkeys were fitted with extended-wear contact lenses (EWCLs) to correct surgically induced aphakia. The protocol that produced the most favorable experimental outcome, including good lens-wear compliance, involved: (1) custom-made EWCLs with parameters adjusted for each animal, (2) selection for study of neonates who seemed to tolerate EWCLs most naturally, (3) individual housing of monkeys, (4) lens check at 2-h intervals around the clock by trained personnel, (5) a large inventory of EWCLs for each animal, (6) periodic ophthalmologic examinations, and (7) darkroom housing of monkeys during treatment of lens-wear-related incidents. The EWCL is a new tool for studies of the visual system and is a useful complement to existing experimental techniques.     

The (in)ability to mourn in East and West Germany. What mourning could mean]

Together, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the reunification of Germany and the public reactions to the war in the Gulf form a syndrome that poses anew the question of the specifically German "ability to mourn". On the one hand, the author registers a continuing rejection of the onerous task of facing up to the reality of the past via recollection and mourning. On the other, she sees indications both on the individual and collective level that this rejection is beginning to crumble, thus encouraging the emergence of attitudes that challenge the validity of German "ideals" to an increasing extent.     

Über Wechselwirkungen zwischen farbigen und neutralen Feldern

Zusammenfassung Sieht man von den zuletzt mitgeteilten Beobachtungen über den Einfluß der figuralen Feldgestaltung auf Kontrasterscheinungen ab, so lassen sich die Ergebnisse aller vorstellend angeführten Untersuchungen der letzten Jahrzehnte auf den Einfluß weniger Faktoren zurückführen.Theoretisch bedeutungsvoll ist es, daß die Abhängigkeit von den 3 Faktoren Infeld-Weißwert, Helligkeitsabstand zwischen den Feldern und Infeld-Helligkeit nicht allein für Farbschwellen und für stärker gesättigte Farbfelder auf neutralen Umfeldern, sondern in gleicher Weise für Helligkeitsschwellen bei neutralen Feldzusammenstellungen und für Farbfelder auf gleichfarbigem Grund als maßgebend erscheint. Die Annahme, es handle sich bei den zu Anfang dieses Berichtes hervorgehobenen Gesetzmäßigkeiten nur um Wechselwirkungen zwischen farbigen und neutralen Feldern, erweist sich somit als irrig.Zur Erklärung der gesamten, jetzt festgestellten Erscheinungen genügen die bisher vorliegenden, nur für Einzelergebnisse ausreichenden theoretischen Annahmen nicht. Vor allem werden die herrschenden Theorien der Bedeutung des Helligkeitsabstandes zwischen den Feldern für objektive Lichtreize und Kontrast nicht gerecht.Die Ergebnisse über den Einfluß des Helligkeitsabstandes und die wenigen bisher vorliegenden Ergebnisse der Untersuchungen über den Einfluß der Größenverhältnisse der Felder auf Schwellenhöhe und Kontrast legen vielmehr theoretische Annahmen auf gestaltpsychologischer Grundlage nahe und zwar 1. in bezug auf die Helligkeitsstruktur und 2. auf die Struktur in figuraler Hinsicht, welch letzterer Faktor zudem in den angeführten Versuchen von Wundt, Wertheimer, Benussi, Joh. Köhler und Koffka besonders klar hervortritt.     

Attitude change in face‐to‐face and computer‐mediated communication: private self‐awareness as mediator and moderator

Two types of social influence can be distinguished: norm‐based influence occurs when social identity is salient and interpersonal influence occurs when personal identity is salient. In two experiments the impact of trait and state private self‐awareness on interpersonal influence during face‐to‐face and computer‐mediated communication (CMC) was investigated. It is argued that interpersonal influence resulting from face‐to‐face communication is stronger than interpersonal influence resulting from CMC because CMC heightens state private self‐awareness. As a result, it leads to a focus on personal perceptions and thoughts which in turn reduces attitude change. Experiment 1 suggests that communication media may influence attitude change via private self‐awareness. Experiment 2 showed that trait private self‐awareness moderates the effect of communication media on interpersonal influence. Interpersonal influence was stronger in face‐to‐face communication than in CMC only for individuals higher in private self‐awareness. This finding indicates that the impact of situational variations of a concept can be limited to individuals who have a more elevated sense of private self‐awareness. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Personality types and risky health behaviors in Norwegian students

Typological research has received increasing interest in recent years, but is still regarded as substandard by personality psychologists. The current investigation shows how a typological approach can enhance our understanding of the influence of personality on risky health behaviors. We focused on Torgersen's eight personality types that represent unique configurations of high and low Extraversion, Neuroticism, and Constraint (Vollrath & Torgersen, 2000). Participants were 606 Norwegian university students. Measures assessed personality factors, smoking, abuse of drugs and alcohol, drunk driving, and risky sexual behaviors. Results replicated earlier research showing that types combining either high Extraversion and low Constraint (Hedonists, Impulsives) or high Neuroticism and low Constraint (Insecures) engage in more risky health behaviors. The discussion focuses on demonstrating that the study of types is a valuable supplement to the dimensional tradition in personality psychology.