Increasing self‐esteem and empathy to prevent violent radicalization: a longitudinal quantitative evaluation of a resilience training focused on adolescents with a dual identity

Quantitative results are reported of a longitudinal evaluation of a resilience training as a possible method to prevent violent radicalization (Diamant; SIPI, 2010). A total of 46 male and female Muslim adolescents and young adults with a migrant background participated. Results show that the training significantly increased participants' reports of agency and a marginal increase was found in reported self‐esteem, empathy and perspective taking but also narcissism. Attitudes toward ideology‐based violence and own violent intentions were significantly lower after the training than before. Higher reports of empathy were related to less positive attitudes toward ideology‐based violence. These results suggest that an intervention aimed at empowering individuals in combination with strengthening empathy is successful in countering violent radicalization.     

Meta‐Analysis of Anorexia Nervosa Counseling Outcome Studies From 1990 to 2015

This meta‐analysis of 92 anorexia nervosa counseling articles examined the effectiveness of counseling in reducing symptoms of anorexia nervosa at termination and the longest follow‐up assessments. Treatment‐as‐usual studies showed no effect to small effects at both posttest and follow‐up assessments, wait‐list studies showed small effects at posttest and medium effects at follow‐up, and single‐group uncontrolled studies showed medium to large effects at posttest and medium effects at follow‐up. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Improving recall by recoding interfering material at the time of retrieval.

Our experiments demonstrate that interference of an interpolated list of items with recall of an original list can be substantially reduced by forming Ss just before testing how to reorganize and simplify the interpolated material. In Experiments 1 and 2, Ss better recalled an initial serial list of letters when informed at testing that an interpolated list spelled a certain phrase backward. Similarly, in Experiments 3 and 4, Ss better recalled an initial list of cities when told that the interpolated cities were also names of former U.S. presidents. Control experiments rule out several simple explanations. In contrast to an editing hypothesis, the postorganizing clue helped recall even when problems of list differentiation were minimized. Current memory models appear unable to explain this benefit of a postlearning clue that enables Ss to segregate the interpolated material from the to-be-remembered material.     

Rummage search by expert dyads,novice dyads and novice individuals for objects hidden in houses

Rummage search is the visual and haptic search of complex environments for targets. In this study, rummage search was explored using a novel analytic framework with expert dyads and novice dyads, as well as novice individuals. Participants sought an unknown number of targets placed in four rooms of a residential house. Some targets were plainly visible whereas others were hidden and could only be found through haptic examination. Expert dyads were very good at the task, conducting a slowed, double-checking exhaustive search, while novices both failed to fixate potential target locations and failed to carry out the appropriate action required to search those locations exhaustively. The novice dyads examined more than the novice individuals, but became more superficial in their search. We conclude that effective rummage searching is a skill enhanced by training.     

Visuospatial counter‐interrogation strategies by liars familiar with the alibi setting

This study examines counter‐interrogation strategies employed by liars giving false alibis. Participants (N = 144) visited a restaurant to buy a sandwich (truth‐tellers) or to use it as a false alibi (liars). Half of the liars were informed they might be asked for a drawing of the alibi setting if interviewed (informed liars). Participants spent either 10 min (high familiarity condition) or 30 s (low familiarity condition) in the restaurant. All participants were asked to provide two visuospatial statements, which were assessed for salient details, nonsalient details, between‐statement consistency, and statement‐alibi setting consistency. Informed liars provided significantly more salient and nonsalient details than uninformed liars and truth‐tellers, particularly in the high familiarity condition. No differences emerged for statement consistency types. The results suggest that liars are more concerned than truth‐tellers about making a positive impression on the interviewer, and they fail to accurately reflect on truth‐tellers' visuospatial statements.     

Using unexpected questions to elicit information and cues to deceit in interpreter‐based interviews

We examined whether speech‐related differences between truth tellers and liars are more profound when answering unexpected questions than when answering expected questions. We also examined whether the presence of an interpreter affected these results. In the experiment, 204 participants from the United States (Hispanic participants only), Russia, and the Republic of Korea were interviewed in their native language by a native‐speaking interviewer or by a British interviewer through an interpreter. Truth tellers discussed a trip that they had made during the last 12 months; liars fabricated a story about such a trip. The key dependent variables were the amount of information provided and the proportion of all statements that were complications. The proportion of complications distinguished truth tellers from liars better when answering unexpected than expected questions, but only in interpreter‐absent interviews. The number of details provided did not differ between truth tellers and liars or between interpreter‐absent and interpreter‐present interviews.     

Quiet eye and the Bereitschaftspotential: visuomotor mechanisms of expert motor performance

Concurrent exploration of the Bereitschaftspotential (BP) and quiet eye period (QE) was implemented to assess potential mechanisms underlying psychomotor skills that differentiate expert and near-expert performers. Twenty golfers were classified by their USGA handicap rating as either a high handicap (HH; near-expert) or low handicap (LH; expert) to permit skill-based inferences. Participants completed 90 trials during which QE duration, BP activity, and putting performance were recorded. The application of single-subject analyses illustrated that LH golfers were more accurate and less variable in their performance than the HH group. Systematic differences in QE duration and BP were also observed, with experts exhibiting a prolonged quiet eye period and greater cortical activation in the right-central region compared with non-experts. A significant association between cortical activation and QE duration was also noted. The results of this investigation lend support to the motor programming/preparation function of the QE period. Practical and theoretical implications are presented and suggestions for future empirical work provided.     

Antagonistic modulatory influences of negative affect on cognitive control: Reduced and enhanced interference resolution capability after the induction of fear and sadness

The present behavioral study investigated the influence of negative affect on the neural mechanisms of cognitive control. We expected to find evidence for an antagonistic modulation of cognition by threat-relevant and threat-irrelevant negative affect (i.e. fear and sadness) that should promote bottom-up monitoring and top-down selection, respectively. Subjects performed one of three conflict tasks (Stroop, Flanker, or Simon) that tap distinct control mechanisms of conflict resolution, comprising specific attentional and motor control processes. On each task trial, target stimuli were preceded by a face stimulus exhibiting a fearful, sad, or neutral expression, providing three affect conditions. Our data provides strong evidence for substantially increased selection (attentional and motor selection) after priming of threat-irrelevant negative affect (sadness). Deviating from the results of previous studies, our analysis did not consistently yield increased monitoring after fear priming. We discuss these findings with respect to the effectiveness of different experimental affect priming procedures (i.e. stimuli) and the role of the task context, among others.     

Identifying Beliefs and Cognitions Underpinning Commuters' Travel Mode Choices

Interventions to reduce car use have shown limited success, in part due to limitations in models of transport choices. The theory of planned behavior (TPB) has provided a useful predictive model of car use but the specific beliefs that underpin TPB‐specified cognitions are less well understood. In this study, 229 university employees responded to a questionnaire and then reported their commuting choices 1 week later. Intention and perceived behavioral control (PBC) predicted car use (R² = .79). Intention was predicted by attitude, subjective norm, PBC, and moral norm (R² = .56). Beliefs could not be differentiated into attitudinal and PBC constructs, but seven beliefs predicted TPB cognitions. A similar model was tested for public transport use. The results identify key targets for future interventions.