Die wende der Philosophie

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

A randomized controlled trial of internet-based therapy in depression

Depression is among the most prevalent disorders worldwide. In view of numerous treatment barriers, internet-based interventions are increasingly adopted to “treat the untreated”. The present trial (registered as NCT01401296) was conducted over the internet and aimed to assess the efficacy of an online self-help program for depression (Deprexis). In random order, participants with elevated depression symptoms received program access or were allocated to a wait-list control condition. After eight weeks, participants were invited to take part in an online re-assessment. To compensate for common problems of online studies, such as low completion rates and unclear diagnostic status, reminders and incentives were used, and clinical diagnoses were externally confirmed in a subgroup of 29% of participants. Relative to the wait-list group, program users experienced significant symptom decline on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI; primary outcome), the Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale (DAS), the Quality of Life scale (WHOQOL-BREF) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE). Compared to wait-list participants, symptom decline was especially pronounced among those with moderate symptoms at baseline as well as those not currently consulting a therapist. Completion (82%) and re-test reliability of the instruments (r = .72–.87) were good. The results of this trial suggest that online treatment can be beneficial for people with depression, particularly for those with moderate symptoms.     

Psychometric evaluation and experimental validation of the statistics anxiety rating scale

The Statistics Anxiety Rating Scale (STARS) was adapted into German to examine its psychometric properties (n = 400). Two validation studies (n = 66, n = 96) were conducted to examine its criterion-related validity. The psychometric properties of the questionnaire were very similar to those previously reported for the original English version in various countries and other language versions. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated 2 second-order factors: One was more closely related to anxiety and the other was more closely related to negative attitudes toward statistics. Predictive validity of the STARS was shown both in an experimental exam-like situation in the laboratory and during a real examination situation. Taken together, the findings indicate that statistics anxiety as assessed by the STARS is a useful construct that is more than just an expression of a more general disposition to anxiety.     

Fourteen‐Month‐Olds' Imitation of Differently Aged Models

Studies comparing adult and peer imitation are rare and have to date provided mixed results. The aim of the present study was to investigate 14‐month‐olds' imitation of different actions (novel versus familiar) performed by televised models of different age groups (peers, older children or adults). In two experiments, we investigated infants' imitative performance when observing a novel action (Experiment 1) and familiar actions (Experiment 2). The results showed that the likelihood of imitating a novel action increased as the age of the model increased. The opposite was true for familiar actions where infants imitated the peer more frequently than either the older child or the adult model. These findings are discussed in relation to infants' ability to take into account a model's characteristics such as age when imitating actions. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sympathy,Interpersonal Awareness and Acknowledgment

According to a popular thought, sympathy is an epistemic phenomenon: in sympathizing with others we come to be aware of them as fellow sentient beings. This view–which I call the Epistemic View–effectively characterizes sympathy as a form of social cognition. In this paper, I will argue against the Epistemic View. As far as I can see, this view radically misconstrues the way sympathy is directed at others. I will at the same time provide some material for, and motivate, an alternative proposal according to which the primary significance of sympathy is practical rather than epistemic. On this account, sympathy is a form of interpersonal acknowledgment rather than interpersonal awareness.

     

The difficulty of letting go: moderators of the deactivation of completed intentions

Recent studies showed that prospective memory (PM) intentions might not be deactivated directly after completion. The residual activation leads to aftereffects which are reflected as interference in performance when former PM cues of old intentions are interspersed in the new task (i.e., intention deactivation failure, Walser et al., J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn 38(4):1030–1044, 2012). In the present study, we investigated potential mechanisms that might support the deactivation process of completed intentions by manipulating the task demands (e.g., working memory load) between intention completion and measurement of aftereffects. Aftereffects on repeated PM-cue trials were found when working memory load was low (control condition), but were reduced when available resources were sparse (working memory load condition). When participants were asked to reflect upon the to-be-deactivated PM cue, subsequent aftereffects were increased. Further, overall aftereffects were larger for participants low in self-reported action control. Results show that the nature of the filler-task activity determines whether the representation of the completed intention is destabilized (working memory load) or strengthened (intention reflection). The (at least partial) overwriting of completed intention representations by new working memory task representations seems therefore to reflect a supporting factor for the deactivation of completed intentions.     

Evolution,the End of Human Uniqueness,and the Election of the Imago Dei

Abstract

In both popular opinion and the minds of many scientists and theologians, the idea of human uniqueness and human superiority has been linked to the Christian doctrine of the imago Dei. Pursuing what is called the comparative approach to theological anthropology many have asked, in what ways is human nature different from the nature of animals and, therefore, like the nature of God? This article questions any concept of the imago Deithat equates the divine likeness with some characteristic, behavior, or trait which presumably makes humans unique—in a non-trivial way—from other animals and from the non-human hominids. Instead of grounding the image of God in human uniqueness, the author concludes that the imago Dei is—exegetically, theologically, and scientifically—best understood in light of the Hebrew theological framework of historical election.