Zwischen transzendentaler Genese und faktischer Existenz. Konfigurationen des Lebensbegriffs bei Natorp, Husserl und Heidegger

Die vorliegende Studie befasst sich mit der Deutung, die der so vielschichtige Begriff des Lebens Anfang des 20. Jahrhunderts in der neukantianischen Transzendentalphilosophie sowie in der Ph?nomenologie erfahren hat. Am Beispiel von Natorp, Husserl und Heidegger werden verschiedene Ans?tze analysiert, die darauf abzielen, den Lebensbegriff aus seinen vitalistischen und historistischen Verengungen zu befreien und zur Deutung der Grundstrukturen des Bewusstseins bzw. der faktischen Existenz heranzuziehen. Dabei zeichnet sich eine Entwicklung ab, die von einer wenig differenzierten Verwendung des Lebensbegriffs als Synonym der Bewusstseinsdynamik als solcher (Natorp) über die Dualit?t von vorph?nomenologischem Welterleben und transzendentalem Bewusstseinsleben (Husserl) bis hin zur Einsicht in die vorsubjektive Primordialit?t des „Lebens selbst“ (Heidegger) führt. Das Leben erscheint somit letztlich als kein wie immer geartetes Was, sondern als ein Wie, n?mlich als die M?glichkeit, das Kontinuum des Welterlebens jederzeit zu durchbrechen und es auf den Grad seiner N?he zur Intensit?t des Ursprungserlebens hin transparent zu machen.     

Representing others' actions: the role of expertise in the aging mind

A large body of evidence suggests that action execution and action observation share a common representational domain. To date, little is known about age-related changes in these action representations that are assumed to support various abilities such as the prediction of observed actions. The purpose of the present study was to investigate (a) how age affects the ability to predict the time course of observed actions; and (b) whether and to what extent sensorimotor expertise attenuates age-related declines in prediction performance. In a first experiment, older adults predicted the time course of familiar everyday actions less precisely than younger adults. In a second experiment, younger and older figure skating experts as well as age-matched novices were asked to predict the time course of figure skating elements and simple movement exercises. Both young age and sensorimotor expertise had a positive influence on prediction performance of figure skating elements. The expertise-related benefit did not show a transfer to movement exercises. Together, the results suggest a specific decline of action representations in the aging mind. However, extensive sensorimotor experience seems to enable experts to represent actions from their domain of expertise more precisely even in older age.     

Influences of task concreteness upon transitive responding in humans

The derivation of the conclusion Anna is bigger than Mary from the premises Anna is bigger than Paul and Mary is smaller than Paul is considered an instance of transitive deduction. For a non-verbal presentation, the premise statements were here transformed into a multiple operant discrimination task. Adult subjects were trained with overlapping pairs of a six-member stimulus series (A+B–, A+C–, C+D–, D+E–, E+F–; +: choice rewarded, choice penalized). A computer game-type presentation that hid the actual problem structure from the subjects was employed. The effects of varying the presentation style of the task on the objective performance and the structure awareness of subjects were investigated. A first experiment used random polygons as stimuli and the relations between them were only signalled by the above reinforcement allocations. In a second experiment the stimuli were cartoon figures additionally involved in a dominance hierarchy that was suggested graphically. A third experiment used named items that were related through visible size differences in addition to the reinforcement allocations but was otherwise like an experiment using an abstract format reported by Werner et al. (1992). In all experiments a similar proportion of subjects responded transitively when subsequently tested with the pairs BD, BE and CE by preferentially choosing stimulus B or C. Each subject subsequently filled in a questionnaire, completed a stimulus ordering exercise, and was interviewed to find out whether they were explicitly aware of the stimulus hierarchy underlying each of the tasks. Although the proportion of subjects revealing an explicit transitive responding increased together with the concreteness of the stimuli and their relations across the experiments, the objective performance in terms of choice accuracy did not vary. The accuracy performance on tests could be accurately simulated with a modification of a simple conditioning model. It is concluded that an implicit mode of processing may underlie many instances of transitive responding in humans even when explicit task understanding is reported.     

A multistimulus,portable, and programmable conditioning panel for pigeons

A portable two-response-key conditioning panel for pigeons is described. It can be attached to the subjects’ home cages and allows around-the-clock experimentation. Visual stimuli are presented with light-diode display matrices. Food rewards are dispensed directly onto the stimulus/response keys with separate solenoid dispensers. Several platforms can be simultaneously controlled by a single personal computer with programs written in a simple language adapted for on-line operation. Two experiments exploring the effects of prolonged conditioning sessions upon responding and learning demonstrated the effectiveness of the system. The apparatus is an efficient and inexpensive alternative to a conventional conditioning chamber.     

Telefonische Nachuntersuchungen bei postpartaler Depression Ein Erfahrungsbericht

Erfahrungen bei telefonischen Befragungen von Müttern mit und ohne postpartal depressiven Symptomen werden berichtet. Die Vor- und Nachteile telefonischer Interviews werden diskutiert. Die ökonomischen und logistischen Vorteile gegenüber Face-to-face-Interviews kommen vor allem bei größeren Entfernungen zum Wohnort zum Tragen. Insbesondere für problemorientierte Fragestellungen (z. B. Depression) scheinen telefonische Interviews eine in der Bevölkerung akzeptierte Alternative zu sein.     

Dispositional resistance to change: measurement equivalence and the link to personal values across 17 nations

The concept of dispositional resistance to change has been introduced in a series of exploratory and confirmatory analyses through which the validity of the Resistance to Change (RTC) Scale has been established (S. Oreg, 2003). However, the vast majority of participants with whom the scale was validated were from the United States. The purpose of the present work was to examine the meaningfulness of the construct and the validity of the scale across nations. Measurement equivalence analyses of data from 17 countries, representing 13 languages and 4 continents, confirmed the cross-national validity of the scale. Equivalent patterns of relationships between personal values and RTC across samples extend the nomological net of the construct and provide further evidence that dispositional resistance to change holds equivalent meanings across nations.     

A one-trial inhibitory avoidance task to zebrafish: Rapid acquisition of an NMDA-dependent long-term memory

The behavioral tasks aiming to evaluate learning and memory mechanisms currently available to zebrafish (Danio rerio) involve long training sessions frequently along multiple days and are based on shuttle box or active-avoidance protocols, preventing a detailed analysis of cellular and molecular time-dependent processes involved in memory acquisition and consolidation. In order to explore zebrafish’s potential contribution to the characterization of the molecular machinery underlying learning and memory rapidly acquired and reliable paradigms are necessary. In this study we present a rapid and effective learning protocol in a single-trial inhibitory avoidance in zebrafish. In a simple apparatus, adult animals learned to refrain from swimming from a white into a dark compartment in order to avoid an electric shock during a single-trial training session that lasted less than 2 min. The resulting memory is robust, long-lasting and sensitive to NMDA-receptor antagonist MK-801 given in the tank water immediately after training. Experiments aiming to further characterize the events underlying memory formation, retrieval or extinction or those looking for cognitive profiling of mutants, neurotoxicological studies and disease models may benefit from this task, and together with complementary strategies available for zebrafish may significantly improve our current knowledge on learning and memory mechanisms.