A Life-Course View on Ageing Consumers: Old-Age Trajectories and Gender Differences

This study presents a dynamic, model-based view of consumers’ ageing developments, focused on gender differences, to uncover the pathways and socioeconomic transitions that female and male consumers take through old age. The analysis of longitudinal survey data spanning 15 years uses a latent Markov dynamic cluster model with transitions over time. The resulting life courses allow an exploration of lifestyle-related changes in multiple consumer well-being variables beyond age 50. Substantial well-being differences appear in the ageing paths of men and women. In both cases, a dominant chronological sequence through old age is complemented by less common transitions, rarely associated with advanced age. Although the model does not use chronological age as an independent variable, it outperforms purely agebased, or age- cohort-, and period-based models in predicting old-age consumer wellbeing. These results highlight the importance of considering within-cohort diversity when modelling the accompaniments of old age: while some older consumers enjoy active lifestyles, others of similar age succumb to depression and loneliness, rendering age an insufficient predictor of well-being states. In the future, the presented model could be matched with other, even cross-sectional, consumer survey data to help predict various dynamics in the ageing consumer population.

     

Completeness and Correspondence in Chellas–Segerberg Semantics

We investigate a lattice of conditional logics described by a Kripke type semantics, which was suggested by Chellas and Segerberg – Chellas–Segerberg (CS) semantics – plus 30 further principles. We (i) present a non-trivial frame-based completeness result, (ii) a translation procedure which gives one corresponding trivial frame conditions for arbitrary formula schemata, and (iii) non-trivial frame conditions in CS semantics which correspond to the 30 principles.     

The impact of pressured information management on boys' and girls' psychological functioning

This study involving 463 adolescents examined the impact of pressured information management with mothers on boys' and girls' subsequent psychological functioning. This novel concept of pressured information management involved both pressured secrecy and disclosure and was defined as the degree to which adolescents feel they have no choice but to engage in these strategies. While pressured secrecy was especially aversive for girls, yielding associations with both depression and anxiety, it was related to stress only in boys. Pressured disclosure was less detrimental, and in fact, had a positive influence on girls' anxiety over time. Alternate models for these effects were considered but not supported by the data. Together, these findings highlight the importance of considering teens' reasons for engaging in different information management strategies and suggest adolescents who feel they have no choice but to keep secrets or disclose information to mothers may experience psychological consequences that are gender-specific.     

Assessment of cognitive function across pregnancy using CANTAB: A longitudinal study

Significant changes in endogenous plasma hormone levels are required to sustain pregnancy which provides a unique opportunity to study their effect on cognitive function.     

Prospective memory training in older adults and its relevance for successful aging

In research on cognitive plasticity, two training approaches have been established: (1) training of strategies to improve performance in a given task (e.g., encoding strategies to improve episodic memory performance) and (2) training of basic cognitive processes (e.g., working memory, inhibition) that underlie a range of more complex cognitive tasks (e.g., planning) to improve both the training target and the complex transfer tasks. Strategy training aims to compensate or circumvent limitations in underlying processes, while process training attempts to augment or to restore these processes. Although research on both approaches has produced some promising findings, results are still heterogeneous and the impact of most training regimes for everyday life is unknown. We, therefore, discuss recent proposals of training regimes aiming to improve prospective memory (i.e., forming and realizing delayed intentions) as this type of complex cognition is highly relevant for independent living. Furthermore, prospective memory is associated with working memory and executive functions and age-related decline is widely reported. We review initial evidence suggesting that both training regimes (i.e., strategy and/or process training) can successfully be applied to improve prospective memory. Conceptual and methodological implications of the findings for research on age-related prospective memory and for training research in general are discussed.     

Individual Differences in Antisocial Punishment in Public Goods Situations: The Interplay of Cortisol with Testosterone and Dominance

This research investigates which endocrinological and psychological factors are associated with individuals' tendency to engage in destructive antisocial punishment, that is, to costly punish cooperative individuals in public goods situations. In this work, we focus on the interplay of endogenous cortisol with testosterone and dominance. We applied the dual‐hormone hypothesis according to which testosterone is positively associated with destructive and dominant behavior but only in individuals with low levels of cortisol. Study 1 shows that individuals are more likely to engage in destructive antisocial punishment in a public goods game with the option to punish when their testosterone level is high, given that their level of cortisol is low, which bolsters the dual‐hormone hypothesis. In contrast, no significant interaction effect of testosterone and cortisol emerges for the punishment of uncooperative free‐riders (altruistic punishment). In a second study, we build on these findings and document that self‐reported dominance is only positively associated with antisocial punishment (but not with altruistic punishment) when cortisol is low. In sum, the results indicate the importance of taking endocrinological and psychological factors (and their interactions) into account in order to reach a comprehensive understanding of individuals' behavior in social dilemma situations. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Beurteilung von Einsichts- und Steuerungsfähigkeit bei Personen mit geistiger Behinderung im Strafverfahren

Reference is made to the content determination of the entry term “mental retardation” in the criminal responsibility paragraphs of the Penal Code. The forensic relevance of intellectual disability is low. Forensic effects of retarded ability for reasoning usually fail due to the understanding in question. A diminution of criminal responsibility can if necessary be justified by a reduction in accountability.