Die verbale Aktivit?t in therapeutischen Dialogen

The discourse in psychotherapeutic treatment is less specific than usually expected so the question arises whether different therapy methods are different in the style of communication. In this study the verbal activity and other characteristics of the discourse of therapist and patient for sessions from two psychoanalytic, two psychodynamic and two cognitive behavior therapies were compared. Psychoanalytic therapists were found to talk the least and behavior therapists the most. Patients talk nearly the same amount in all therapies. As therapists of psychoanalytic treatment talk less than behavior therapists the percentage of patient talking is highest in psychoanalytic therapy. Further formal characteristics: statements are the most frequent form of intervention in behavior therapy (51?%), followed by psychodynamic (36?%) and psychoanalytic therapy (27?%). The most frequent form of intervention in psychodynamic and psychoanalytic therapy is listening, whereas it is only a small part of communication in behavior therapy. Questions are asked most often in behavior therapy. Hence there are significant differences which correspond to the theory of treatment, between the three methods in discourse behavior on a single case level.     

The Vienna comparative cognition technology (VCCT): An innovative operant conditioning system for various species and experimental procedures

This article describes a laboratory system for running learning experiments in operant chambers with various species. It is based on a modern version of a classical learning chamber for operant conditioning, the so-called ??Skinner box??. Rather than constituting a stand-alone unit, as is usually the case, it is an integrated part of a comprehensive technical solution, thereby eliminating a number of practical problems that are frequently encountered in research on animal learning and behavior. The Vienna comparative cognition technology combines modern computer, stimulus presentation, and reinforcement technology with flexibility and user-friendliness, which allows for efficient, widely automatized across-species experimentation, and thus makes the system appropriate for use in a broad range of learning tasks.     

Learning and development of embodied numerosity

Recent empirical evidence indicates that seemingly abstract numerical cognitions are rooted in sensory and bodily experiences. In particular in finger counting finger-based representations reflect a specific case of embodied cognition, we termed embodied numerosity. Furthermore, we suggest that finger-based representations should be considered a distinct representation of number (magnitude) and argue that this representation is activated automatically whenever we encounter a number. We discuss in what way such a theoretical framework can account for the associations of fingers and numbers observed so far. In the final part, we evaluate whether the concept of embodied numerosity should be generalized beyond finger-based representations with particular focus on whether bodily-sensory experiences (such as moving the whole body along the mental number line) may corroborate numerical capabilities. In a series of intervention studies, we consistently observed more pronounced training effects for our embodied numerosity trainings for different age groups, different digital media, different number ranges, and different control conditions. Taken together, we conclude that embodied representations of number (magnitude) exist, are not limited to finger-based representations, and influence number processing in a systematic and functional way that can be used to foster the efficiency of numerical trainings.     

Decomposing the interaction between retention interval and study/test practice: the role of retrievability

Even without feedback, test practice enhances delayed performance compared to study practice, but the size of the effect is variable across studies. We investigated the benefit of testing, separating initially retrievable items from initially nonretrievable items. In two experiments, an initial test determined item retrievability. Retrievable or nonretrievable items were subsequently presented for repeated study or test practice. Collapsing across items, in Experiment 1, we obtained the typical cross-over interaction between retention interval and practice type. For retrievable items, however, the cross-over interaction was quantitatively different, with a small study benefit for an immediate test and a larger testing benefit after a delay. For nonretrievable items, there was a large study benefit for an immediate test, but one week later there was no difference between the study and test practice conditions. In Experiment 2, initially nonretrievable items were given additional study followed by either an immediate test or even more additional study, and one week later performance did not differ between the two conditions. These results indicate that the effect size of study/test practice is due to the relative contribution of retrievable and nonretrievable items.     

Vulnerability of conditional NCAM-deficient mice to develop stress-induced behavioral alterations

Previous studies in rodents showed that chronic stress induces structural and functional alterations in several brain regions, including shrinkage of the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex, which are accompanied by cognitive and emotional disturbances. Reduced expression of the neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) following chronic stress has been proposed to be crucially involved in neuronal retraction and behavioral alterations. Since NCAM gene polymorphisms and altered expression of alternatively spliced NCAM isoforms have been associated with bipolar depression and schizophrenia in humans, we hypothesized that reduced expression of NCAM renders individuals more vulnerable to the deleterious effects of stress on behavior. Here, we specifically questioned whether mice in which the NCAM gene is inactivated in the forebrain by cre-recombinase under the control of the calcium-calmodulin-dependent kinase II promoter (conditional NCAM-deficient mice), display increased vulnerability to stress. We assessed the evolving of depressive-like behaviors and spatial learning and memory impairments following a subchronic stress protocol (2 weeks) that does not result in behavioral dysfunction, nor in altered NCAM expression, in wild-type mice. Indeed, while no behavioral alterations were detected in wild-type littermates after subchronic stress, conditional NCAM-deficient mice showed increased immobility in the tail suspension test and deficits in reversal spatial learning in the water maze. These findings indicate that diminished NCAM expression might be a critical vulnerability factor for the development of behavioral alterations by stress and further support a functional involvement of NCAM in stress-induced cognitive and emotional disturbances.     

Domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) flexibly adjust their human-directed behavior to the actions of their human partners in a problem situation

Domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) have been shown to actively initiate triadic communicative interactions by looking at a human partner or by alternating their gaze between the human and an object when being faced with an out-of-reach reward or an unsolvable problem. It has hardly been investigated, however, whether dogs flexibly adjust their human-directed behavior to the actions of their partners, which indicate their willingness and abilities to help them when they are faced with a problem. Here, in two experiments, we confronted dogs—after initially allowing them to learn how to manipulate an apparatus—with two problem situations: with an empty apparatus and a blocked apparatus. In Experiment 1, we showed that dogs looked back at their owners more when the owners had previously encouraged them, independently from the problem they faced. In Experiment 2, we provided dogs with two experimenters and allowed them to learn through an initial phase that each of the experimenters could solve one of the two problems: the Filler re-baited the empty apparatus and the Helper unblocked the blocked apparatus. We found that dogs could learn to recognize the ability of the Filler and spent time close to her when the apparatus was empty. Independently from the problem, however, they always approached the Helper first. The results of the present study indicate that dogs may have a limited understanding of physical problems and how they can be solved by a human partner. Nevertheless, dogs are able to adjust their behavior to situation-specific characteristics of their human partner’s behavior.     

Application of signature strengths at work: A dual-level analysis

ABSTRACT

Each individual possesses character strengths, the most significant of which are classified as signature strengths. With a sample of 164 individuals who were employed at least part-time in a variety of industries, we examined application of signature strengths and well-being both between-persons (global) and within-persons (daily). Global application of signature strengths was associated with global job satisfaction and strain; however, no significant mediation effects on intent to turnover were found. We also found that daily variations in application of signature strengths were related to daily job satisfaction and strain. Common method bias associated with trait positive and negative affect differed by level of analysis: At the between-person (global) level, trait affect produced substantial inflation of estimates, but at the within-person (daily) level, inflation was negligible. The results suggest the importance of daily opportunities to apply signature strengths and of accounting for variance attributable to trait affect in between-person analyses.