OGAMA (Open Gaze and Mouse Analyzer): Open-source software designed to analyze eye and mouse movements in slideshow study designs

In the present article, a new software is introduced that allows the recording and analyzing of eye- and mouse-tracking data from slideshow-based experiments in parallel. The Open Gaze and Mouse Analyzer (OGAMA) is written in C#.NET and has been released as an open-source project. Its main features include slide-show design, the recording of gaze and mouse data, database-driven preprocessing and filtering of gaze and mouse data, the creation of attention maps, areas-of-interest definition, and replay. Eyetracking and/or presentation soft- and hardware recordings in ASCII format can be imported. Data output is provided that can be used directly with different statistical software packages. Because it is open source, one can easily adapt it to suit one’s needs.     

Enhancing the effectiveness of residential treatment for substance abusing pregnant and parenting women: Focus on maternal reflective functioning and mother‐child relationship

Substance abuse during early motherhood has become a significant problem and has led to accelerated efforts to develop specific treatment facilities for these mothers and children. Despite the often intensive treatment efforts in residential settings, there is surprisingly little evidence of their efficacy for enhancing the quality of caregiving. The situation of these mother‐child pairs is exceptionally complex and multilevel, and has to be taken into account in the content and structuring of treatment. Intensive work in the “here and now” focusing on the mother‐child relationship from pregnancy onwards in an effort to enhance maternal reflective capacity and mindedness is considered a key element for better treatment prognosis, in terms of both abstinence and quality of parenting. Pioneering work with such a focus is described in this article.     

Differential susceptibility to discipline: the moderating effect of child temperament on the association between maternal discipline and early childhood externalizing problems.

This study investigated the interaction of child temperament and maternal discipline in the prediction of externalizing problems in early childhood. Interaction effects were evaluated in a sample of 227 one- to three-year-old children with relatively high externalizing problems scores on the Child Behavior Checklist/1 1/2-5. Child temperament was reported by the mothers, maternal discipline was observed in a laboratory session, and child outcome measures included both mother-reported externalizing problems and observed physical aggression. Results indicate that children with difficult temperaments are more susceptible to negative discipline (i.e., they showed more externalizing problems) as well as more susceptible to positive discipline (i.e., they showed fewer externalizing problems and less physical aggression), as compared with children with relatively easy temperaments. These findings provide empirical evidence for the differential susceptibility hypothesis and suggest directions for enhancing the effectiveness of interventions aimed at reducing early childhood externalizing problems.     

Psychotherapeutenausbildung aus Sicht der Absolventen

Background

A survey was performed to assess the current situation in education and to identify critical issues 10 years after the inception of the psychotherapy act in Germany.

Methods

In August 2008 all non-medical psychotherapists who had graduated since 2002 according the psychotherapy act were invited to take part in the survey and a total of 863 persons participated. The answers from 666 could be evaluated corresponding to a participation rate of 20%.

Results

A total of 57.6% of the graduates had completed a full-time training and approximately 50% of the graduates had completed the training within the allotted time. In the majority of cases evaluation occurred only for the theoretical courses. During the practical work (PT I) 36.8% of the graduates did not receive any salary or remuneration, 82% had their own field of activity and of these 38% treated patients without the presence of qualified tutor.

Conclusions

The training often lasts longer than intended, the financial situation in the PT I is exceptionally critical and in clear contrast to the field of activity in this section of training. Further detailed results will be presented and discussed.     

Sales and sincerity: The role of relational framing in word‐of‐mouth marketing

In word-of-mouth marketing, marketers often provide financial rewards for referrals. These rewards introduce a financial motive into an interaction among friends or acquaintances, which may harm the perceived sincerity of the referring customer. We show that this negative effect can be mitigated by disclosing the presence of financial motives, but also by the activation of a market pricing (‘sales’) relationship norm. However, such a norm has a negative effect on compliance with the referral. The effects of relationship norms are strongest when cognitive capacity is impaired, which suggests that the influence of relationship norms occurs outside the awareness of consumers. Conversely, the impact of disclosures is stronger when consumers have full cognitive capacity available.     

Building information systems as universalized locals

We report on our experiences in a participatory design project to develop ICTs in a hospital ward working with deliberate self-harm patients. This project involves the creation and constant re-creation of socio-technical ensembles that satisfy the various, changing and often contradictory and conflicting needs in this context. Such systems are shaped in locally meaningful ways but nevertheless reach beyond their immediate context to gain wider importance and to be integrated with the larger environment. currently working on a participatory design project developing IT systems for psychiatrists working in a toxicology ward of a large general hospital. His research focuses on the local co-production of technologies which he currently explores in a production management context. His research interests lie in the field of human factors and interactive systems design, particularly approaches to IT systems design and development, the relationships between work and technology, and inter-disciplinary approaches to the design of dependable computing systems. carrying out a number of ethnomethodologically informed studies in a variety of applications. He holds a Ph.D. in ethnomethodology from the University of Manchester and is currently involved in research on computer-aided prompting systems for radiological work. He has interests in ethnomethodology, CSCW, SSK and the philosophy of social sciences. where he convenes an interdisciplinary research programme on ‘the social shaping of technology’.     

Cuing efficiency in a Stroop-like task with visual half-field presentation

Stroop-like stimuli were presented to either the left or the right visual half-field. Subjects responded to the identity of the words above and below (the target dimension), which appeared above or below a reference point (the cuing dimension). Automatic Stroop-like effects were assessed as the difference in reaction times between congruent trials (e.g., above the reference point) and incongruent trials (e.g., above below the reference point) when both trial types were equally frequent. In blocks in which most trials were of one type (e.g., 80% congruent trials), controlled Stroop-like effects could be assessed. Automatic Stroop-like effects remained unchanged under different task manipulations. In contrast, controlled Stroop-like effects were reduced by lowering cue-response compatibility and by increasing the response alternatives from two to four. Thus, similar to other cuing effects, controlled Stroop-like effects are susceptible to manipulations that affect the response-decision stage and appear to involve response-selection processes. The resources supporting these response-selection decisions were not hemisphere-specific, and were sufficiently nonspecific that interference from a memory-load task was found. When resources were scarce, a consistent bias to attend to stimuli presented or responded to on the right was evident.