Using a virtual reality system to study balance and walking in a virtual outdoor environment: a pilot study.

Falls and fall-related injuries are a major problem for elderly persons. Most falls occur during walking and turning, and the risk of falling increases when attention is diverted to something besides walking. It is often difficult to standardize methods for testing balance and fall tendency in a clinically relevant setting. We describe the development of a system using a virtual environment (VE) to assess how attention demanding and unexpected events influence a person's capacity to control balance and movement. The hardware in the system consists of a head-mounted display (HMD), a magnetic tracker system, and two SGI computers. The software consists of the image generation of the VE and the management and visualization of motion tracking data. In a preliminary pilot study eight subjects (age 23-80) participated. Each subject walked on a normal floor and was visually presented a familiar outdoor environment in the HMD. They were exposed to different unexpected events, such as a virtual snowfall and tilting of the VE. Disturbances of balance and walking patterns such as changes in speed, stride length and balance reactions like slipping were observed. Two subjects experienced symptoms of cyber sickness with a SSQ score above 25 points. Walking with sensors only did not affect walking time, but in VE the subjects generally walked more slowly. Virtual tilting of the environment had an impact on balance performance during walking. This effect was not observed while the test subjects were walking in a virtual snowfall. The model needs further development but may hold a potential for clinical use.     

Testing for the presence of 1/f noise in continuation tapping data.

A number of recent papers have suggested that the series of time intervals produced in continuation tapping may have fractal properties. This proposition, nevertheless, was only based on the visual appraisal of graphical results, and was not statistically supported. In the present study, we applied the ARMA/ARFIMA modeling procedures proposed by Wagenmakers, Farrell, and Ratcliff (2005) to test for the presence of long-range dependencies in continuation tapping data. Our results demonstrate the presence of long-range dependencies in most series and offer strong support for the hypothesis that fluctuations in tapping series are fractal in nature.     

Description and First Steps Toward the Empirical Validation of the Plan Formulation Method for Couples

The aim of this paper is to empirically assess the reliability of the plan formulation method for couples, a procedure for formulating the case, planning, and monitoring the couple therapies according to control-mastery theory. We hypothesized that when couples are looking for couple therapy, they have an unconscious couple’s plan for the therapy, which includes the couple’s goals; the pathogenic beliefs that the partners want to disprove; the traumas from which these beliefs originated and that the partners want to master; the vicious relational circles that make the couple suffer and that the couple wants to break; the virtuous relational circles that are expressions of the couple’s resources and that the couple wants to fuel; and the relational insights that may help the couple get better. Our study involved 15 couples treated by four experienced therapists. Four raters independently formulated each couple’s plan based on the first three sessions following a standard procedure, and we calculated the intraclass correlation for pooled judges’ ratings. For a subsample of three couples—who before and after treatment had completed the dyadic adjustment scale (DAS) and the outcome questionnaire-45.2 (OQ-45.2)—the compatibility of the therapists’ interventions with the couples’ and partners’ plans was assessed. The relationship between the ratings of compatibility, DAS and OQ-45.2, was assessed. The results showed excellent interjudge reliability for each couple’s plan formulation (average ICC?=?0.82), attesting to the validity of the procedure; and preliminary data on the therapeutic process suggested that therapists’ interventions compatible with couple’s plans could help partners achieve good outcomes.

     

Abbruchs-(Re-)Inszenierungen zwischen Scheitern und Chance

Zusammenfassung Die Autorin gibt zun?chst einen kurzen überblick über die bisherige Analyseabbruchsliteratur seit Freuds berühmter Dora-Analyse. Sie beschreibt die Ver?nderung des Blicks auf Behandlungsabbrüche im Kontext der theoretischen und behandlungstechnischen Entwicklungen und hebt hervor, dass die unvermeidlich erfolgenden Verstrickungen von Analytikern mit ihren Patienten bei realen Abbrüchen oder Abbruchsdrohungen heute eher als wichtiges Material und nicht mehr nur als „Kunstfehler“ verstanden und entsprechend weniger scham- sowie schuldhaft erlebt und durchgearbeitet werden k?nnen. Es folgt ein Fallbericht über die schwierige Analyse einer jungen Erwachsenen, die einerseits beharrlich an ihrem destruktiven Agieren auf der Basis ihres narzisstischen Universums und ihrer ?dipalen Verstrickungen festhielt. Andererseits war sie mit aufrichtigem Erkenntnisinteresse dazu bereit, die dramatischen “enactments” zwischen sich und ihrer Analytikerin (re)konstruktiv zu verstehen und sich auf ihren immer wieder bedrohlichen Entwicklungsprozess einzulassen. Anhand von mehreren (über den gesamten Behandlungsverlauf verteilten) Abbruchsinszenierungen beschreibt die Autorin, wie sich über das beharrliche und konkrete Durcharbeiten dieser Szenen mit der Zeit schrittweise ein tieferes Verst?ndnis für deren Sinn und eine Milderung der Wucht der negativen Affekte herstellen lie?en. Den besonderen Akzent bei ihrer Behandlungsführung setzt die Autorin auf die Arbeit an und in der unmittelbaren übertragungsbeziehung zwischen sich und ihrer jungen Patientin: Diese forderte ihre Analytikerin immer wieder heraus, einerseits „Farbe zu bekennen“ und dabei gleichzeitig ihre analytische Professionalit?t verl?sslich aufrechtzuerhalten. Dieser behandlungstechnisch komplizierte Balanceakt zwischen Scheitern und Chance wird n?her beschrieben.

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Breaking-off-enactments between failure and chance

Abstract First, an overview of the literature about the breaking off of analyses since Freud's famous Dora case is given. Subsequently, a since then changed view of breakoffs of treatments is presented, derived from new developments in theory and technique of treatment. The inevitable entanglements of analysts and patients in case of breakoffs or threats of breaking off are seen, therefore, nowadays rather as important analytic material instead of viewing it as “malpractice”. They are less loaded with guilt and shame and so easier to work through. A case study is then presented about the difficult analysis of a young adult woman, who on the one side was tenaciously clinging to her destructive acting-outs rooting in her narcissistic universe and her oedipal entanglements. But on the other side she had a genuine interest in getting (re)constructive awareness about the dramatic enactments between herself and her analyst and to engage in a developmental process which had for her again and again a menacing quality. The author describes several breakoff-enactments in the course of this analysis, occuring at different times along the whole treatment, and how their consistent and concrete working through gradually led to a deeper understanding of their meaning and to a moderating of the vehemence of negative affects. The author's emphasize in her treatment was put especially on the work in the transference relationship: the patient challenged the analyst repeatedly on the one side to “come clean” and at the same time to maintain reliably the professional analytic attitude. This complex balancing act between failure and chance is described in detail.

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überarbeitete und erweiterte Fassung eines Vortrags im Dezember 2006 anl?sslich der Ernennung zur DGPT-Lehranalytikerin, gehalten vor der „Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Integrative Psychoanalyse, Psychotherapie und Psychosomatik Hamburg“ (APH). Ich danke Josef Hauphoff, Peter Fürstenau und Helmut Junker für ihre konstruktiven fachlichen Anregungen.     

Target-related coupling in bimanual reaching movements

While bimanual interference effects can be observed when symbolic cues indicate the parameter values of simultaneous reaching movements, these effects disappear under conditions in which the target locations of two movements are cued directly. The present study investigates the generalizability of these target-location cuing benefits to conditions in which symbolic cues are used to indicate target locations (i.e., the end points of bimanual movements). Participants were asked to move to two of four possible target locations, being located either at the same and different distances (Experiment 1), or in the same and different directions (Experiment 2). Circles and crosses served as symbolic target-location cues and were arranged in a symmetric or non-symmetric fashion over the four target locations. Each trial was preceded by a variable precuing interval. Results revealed faster initiation times for equivalent as compared to non-equivalent target locations (same vs. different cues). Moreover, the time course of prepartion suggests that this effect is in fact due to target-equivalence and not to cue-similarity. Bimanual interference relative to movement parameter values was not observed. These findings suggest that cuing target locations can dominate potential intermanual interference effects during the concurrent programming of different movement parameter values.     

Radical Innovation and End-User Involvement: The Ambilight Case

To make technology research more effective and to deal with fierce cost competition, technology research should be more focused on radical innovation and needs to adopt a more end-user-focused approach. Product improvement is already quite often building on knowledge collected around consumers’ experiences with these products to come with a next, improved generation of products. However, in case of creating novel products from “scratch,” this will be more difficult. The user-centered research approach including insights, scenarios, and experience prototypes provides a good method to incorporate the consumer perspective in the earliest stages of the product creation process. The development of the Ambilight TV will be used as a case to illustrate this approach.     

Comparison of treatment seeking compulsive buyers in Germany and the United States

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this pilot study was to compare a German (Bavaria) and an American (North Dakota) sample of women suffering from compulsive buying. METHOD: Thirty-eight German and 39 American female compulsive buyers were screened with the Compulsive Buying Scale (CBS), and the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale-Shopping Version (Y-BOCS-SV) prior to entering a group treatment study. Psychiatric co-morbidity was assessed with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I disorders (SCID). RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences between the German sample and the American sample with regard to age (mean 43.7 and 45 years, respectively), and with regard to the scores on the CBS and the Y-BOCS-SV. A high lifetime co-morbidity rate with Axis I disorders, especially mood disorders, anxiety disorders, substance use disorders, OCD, and binge eating disorder was detected in both samples. Almost all participants met criteria for at least one lifetime Axis I disorder. However, German compulsive buyers showed significantly higher current prevalence rates of any affective disorder, and higher current and lifetime prevalence rates of any anxiety disorder and somatoform disorder. In addition, German compulsive buyers were significantly more likely to have more than one Axis I disorder. CONCLUSION: The groups did not differ with regard to age and with regard to the severity of compulsive buying and showed a high co-morbidity with Axis I disorders. However, the German compulsive buying sample presented with significantly more psychiatric co-morbidity compared to the American sample. Further research is needed to provide a better understanding of this disorder in general and cross-culturally.     

Defining task-set reconfiguration: The case of reference point switching

Some researchers argue that task switching involves task-set reconfiguration-that is, changing the existing task set to perform a different task. Although this idea is intriguing, it is often unclear what is reconfigured and which processes are involved in reconfiguration. We addressed these issues by defining task sets, identifying differences between them, and obtaining evidence that was diagnostic of reconfiguration. In two experiments, subjects performed relative judgment tasks that involved comparing a target with a reference point that repeated or switched across trials. The task was the same on every trial, but the task set was not, because a task-set parameter-the reference point-had to be changed. Target-reference point distance effects that changed with the reference point provided diagnostic evidence that reconfiguration occurred, and this reconfiguration led to switch costs. We discuss how our approach can be generalized to define reconfiguration more clearly in other task-switching situations. nt|mis|This research was supported by Grants BCS 0133202 and BCS 0446806 from the National Science Foundation to G.D.L.     

Seven principles of goal activation: a systematic approach to distinguishing goal priming from priming of non-goal constructs.

Countless studies have recently purported to demonstrate effects of goal priming; however, it is difficult to muster unambiguous support for the claims of these studies because of the lack of clear criteria for determining whether goals, as opposed to alternative varieties of mental representations, have indeed been activated. Therefore, the authors offer theoretical guidelines that may help distinguish between semantic, procedural, and goal priming. Seven principles that are hallmarks of self-regulatory processes are proposed: Goal-priming effects (a) involve value, (b) involve postattainment decrements in motivation, (c) involve gradients as a function of distance to the goal, (d) are proportional to the product of expectancy and value, (e) involve inhibition of conflicting goals, (f) involve self-control, and (g) are moderated by equifinality and multifinality. How these principles might help distinguish between automatic activation of goals and priming effects that do not involve goals is discussed.     

Using the Internet to find offline sex partners.

We aimed to expand upon the demographic characteristics and gender differences among those who have met someone on the Internet who they later met offline and had sex with as well as any relationship with cybersex, sexually transmitted infections, and online sexual problems. We analyzed data collected through an online questionnaire in 2002 in Sweden including a total population of 1836 respondents of which 1458 used the Internet for sexual purposes. Of those, 35% men and 40% women reported to have met offline sex partners online. The majority reported an occurrence of one to two times, whereas 10% reported six or more times. The analysis suggested women aged 34-49 and 50-65 years, homo- and bisexual men, and singles more likely to have this experience. They were also more likely to have engaged in cybersex. No relationships were found with sexually transmitted infections or online sexual problems. The results suggest that using the Internet to find sex partners may be less hazardous for the general Internet users than pointed out by prior research about this behavior often focusing on specific sub groups of Internet users.