Charakterpathologie – Persönlichkeitsorganisationen – Strukturniveaus

Following the recent development of special treatment for people with defective ego structures, the diagnosis of ego structures has become highly relevant. Four models, developed during the last 40 years for the differentiation of particular levels of the ego structure are presented: the classification of character pathology (Kernberg 1966), the personality organisations (Kernberg 1977 and 1996), the structure axis of the OPD (Operationalized Psychodynamic Diagnosis 1996) and the personality organisations of the STIPO (2006). Because the levels of character pathology, the personality organisations as well as the structural levels of the OPD are widely used and the last two often even in parallel, it is worthwhile comparing them concerning their strengths, weaknesses and compatibility. It turns out that especially the categories between the neurotic and the borderline personality organisation (Kernberg 1977) show significant differences. The fact that the OPD as well as the STIPO pay much more attention to these levels as the models of personality organisations also do, is to be considered because of its great clinical significance as an advantageous innovation. In addition, both instruments offer the possibility to assign different structural levels to particular dimensions and, due to their operationalization, assure comparability and allow change measurement.     

Beyond “accident-proneness”: Using Five-Factor Model prototypes to predict driving behavior

Research on the association between personality traits and driving behavior as well as accident involvement has produced mixed results. In order to obtain empirical evidence for a consistent relation between personality and driving behavior, a prototype approach based on the Five-Factor Model (FFM) was applied. In two samples of drivers, cluster analyses of FFM scales revealed three prototypes that replicate previous ones. The prototypes, labeled Resilient, Overcontrolled, and Undercontrolled, were found to differ reliably in accident involvement and driving behavior, indicating differential accident liability. Undercontrollers are the most problematic drivers followed by Resilients, whereas Overcontrollers most consistently obey traffic rules and drive accordingly.     

Behavioral phenotyping of a murine model of Alzheimer’s disease in a seminaturalistic environment using RFID tracking

Neurodegen erative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are increasingly threatening public health. Most animal models of AD consist of transgenic mice that are usually housed singly or in unisexual groups in small barren cages. Such restricted environments, however, prevent the mice from showing a variety of speciesspecific behaviors and consequently may constrain comprehensive behavioral phenotyping. On the other hand, allowing the animals to freely organize their lives in a spacious physically and socially enriched environment makes behavioral phenotyping laborious and time consuming. Radio frequency identification (RFID) using a network of antennae and small glass-coated transponders labeling each individual allows for gathering spatiotemporal information about a large number of individuals in parallel. The aim of this project was to use the RFID technique to facilitate the characterization of mice carrying a genetic disposition to develop AD-like pathology and of their wild-type conspecifics in a spacious seminaturalistic environment.     

Body Image in Older Adults: Links with Religion and Gender

Research has confirmed a healthy link between young adults’ religiosity and body image. This study explored this relationship in 127 older men and women (mean = 74 years) who completed measures on two dimensions of body image (body satisfaction and anxiety about an aging appearance) and on different indices of religiosity. Men reported higher body satisfaction and lower anxiety about an aging appearance than women. For men, body satisfaction correlated with many religiosity variables and was predicted by religious well-being, existential well-being, and manifestation of God in their body; aging-appearance anxiety was unrelated to religiosity. For women, body satisfaction was weakly related to religiosity but aging-appearance anxiety was predicted by intrinsic orientation, religious well-being, and existential well-being; in all cases higher religiosity predicted lower anxiety about an aging appearance. Results are discussed in the context of differing cultural standards of aging and attractiveness for men and women.     

Schlusswort

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Effects of response selection on the task repetition benefit in task switching

A task switch typically leads to worse performance than a repetition does. This shift cost can be reduced with sufficient task preparation time, but a residual cost usually remains. We propose that a large part of this residual cost is caused by an activation bias produced by response selection processes in the preceding trial. In our experiments, we manipulated response selection requirements using a go/no-go methodology. The residual shift cost disappeared after no-go trials, suggesting that response selection is crucial to establish an activation bias for the current category-response rules and that this bias persists into the next trial. A comparison with a go-only group confirmed this analysis by revealing no differences in preparatory strategy due to the inclusion of no-go trials. In addition, no-go trials had no significant effects on subsequent trials in a single-task experiment, suggesting that no-go trials are not coded as a task different from go trials and that there is no inhibition of the prepared task in a no-go trial. We thus conclude that a persisting activation bias of response rules plays a major role in task switching.