The role of testosterone in social interaction

Although animal researchers established the role of testosterone as a 'social hormone' decades ago, the investigation of its causal influence on human social behaviors has only recently begun. Here, we review and discuss recent studies showing the causal effects of testosterone on social interactions in animals and humans, and outline the basic neurobiological mechanisms that might underlie these effects. Based on these recent findings, we argue that the role of testosterone in human social behavior might be best understood in terms of the search for, and maintenance of, social status.     

Eine Quadratur des Kreises

In December 2009 the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) found in its judgment in the case of M. v. Germany that the retroactive repeal of the 10-year time limit for the first order of preventive detention violated articles 5 and 7 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR). It took the German legislator about 1 year to reform the law on preventive detention during which the fate of preventive detainees was debated highly emotionally. Part of this reform is the Law on Therapy and Detention of Mentally Disordered Violent Offenders. It provides the possibility to further detain those persons who would have to be released following the ECtHR judgment. The key element is the very broad criterion ??mental disorder?? which is meant to justify the deprivation of liberty under article 5 § 1 lit. (e) ECHR. However, the attempt to bypass the ECtHR judgment in accordance with the ECHR is unsuccessful: the detention is a violation of article 5 ECHR.     

Revising superior planning performance in chess players: the impact of time restriction and motivation aspects

In a previous study (Unterrainer, Kaller, Halsband, & Rahm, 2006), chess players outperformed non-chess players in the Tower of London planning task but exhibited disproportionately longer processing times. This pattern of results raises the question of whether chess players' planning capabilities are superior or whether the results reflect differences in the speed-accuracy trade-off between the groups, possibly attributable to sports motivation. The present study was designed to disambiguate these alternative suggestions by implementing various constraints on planning time and by assessing self-reported motivation. In contrast to the previous study, chess players' performance was not superior, independently of whether problems had to be solved with (Experiment 1) or without (Experiment 2) time limits. As expected, chess players reported higher overall trait and state motivation scores across both experiments. These findings revise the notion of superior planning performance in chess players. In consequence, they do not conform with the assumption of a general transfer of chess-related planning expertise to other cognitive domains, instead suggesting that superior performance may be possible only under specific circumstances such as receiving competitive instructions.     

Nonconcurrently presented auditory tones reduce distraction

Recent research has demonstrated that task-irrelevant stimuli presented simultaneously with a target-distractor stimulus reduce distraction and improve selective attention. In studies examining this reduced interference effect, visual selective attention tasks and concurrently presented task-irrelevant stimuli are used. We report first evidence for a similar effect in the auditory domain and with nonconcurrent stimuli (i.e., the task-irrelevant stimuli are presented before the target). The effect of nonconcurrently presented auditory tones on an auditory Stroop task developed by Leboe and Mondor (Psychological Research, 71, 568--575, 2007) was investigated. Stroop interference was reduced when task-irrelevant tones were presented before the Stroop stimulus. We conclude that task-irrelevant stimuli can improve selective attention not only when presented concurrently, but also when presented before the selective attention task. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that interference reduction is due to perceptual dilution caused by task-irrelevant stimuli.     

Predicting premature termination within a randomized controlled trial for binge-eating patients

Understanding the dropout rates of efficacious forms of psychotherapy for patients with binge eating disorder (BED) is an unsolved problem within this increasing population. Up until now the role of psychotherapy process characteristics as predictors of premature termination has not been investigated in the BED literature. Within a randomized controlled trial (N=78) we investigated the degree to which early psychological process characteristics, such as components of the therapeutic relationship and the experiences of mastery and motivational clarification, predicted premature termination of treatment. We statistically controlled for the influences of covariates such as rapid response of treatment, treatment group, body mass index, Axis II disorder, and patients' preexisting generalized self-efficacy at baseline. Patients' postsession reports from Sessions 1 to 5 indicated that low self-esteem in-session experiences was a stable predictor of premature termination. Its predictive value persisted after controlling for the above-mentioned covariates. Exploratory analyses further revealed low self-esteem experiences, low global alliance, and low mastery and clarification experiences as predictors in those patients who explicitly specified discontentment with therapy as reason for premature termination. These results indicate that patients' self-esteem experiences may not be an epiphenomenon of their specific psychopathology but may represent general mechanisms on which remaining or withdrawing from psychotherapeutic treatment depends. Early psychotherapy process characteristics should therefore be considered in training and evaluation of psychotherapists carrying through BED treatments.     

Assortative mating in morningness-eveningness

Individuals differ in their morningness-eveningness preference (circadian preference); that is, some prefer morning hours for intellectual and physical activities and others prefer late afternoon or evening hours. This has been viewed as an interesting facet of personality. Assortative mating has been studied in personality research, but assortative mating in circadian preference has rarely been examined. Eighty-four couples participated in this study. They filled in the Composite Scale of Morningness; they also supplied data about rise times and bedtimes as well as information about relationship satisfaction and duration. The results revealed a moderate positive relationship between couple partners in morningness-eveningness which persisted after correcting for age. Similarly, correlations existed between the sleep-wake variables (rise time and bedtime) on weekdays and on the weekends, the association being higher for weekends. There was no significant correlation between length of the relationship and dissimilarity in morningness-eveningness, suggesting that the above-reported correlations reflect an initial assortment rather than convergence effects. Further, no significant correlation was found between dissimilarity in morningness-eveningness and relationship satisfaction. The results suggest that assortative mating in morningness-eveningness is likely and is probably based on an initial assortment. The likelihood to meet and mate may also be linked to chronotype. When differences in circadian preferences exist between possible partners, this reduces the likelihood that these persons meet either by accident or during work and leisure activities. Therefore, two extreme chronotypes are unlikely to meet each other because they have the smallest overlap in their preferred active time during the day due to the circadian rhythmicity.     

Das Wichtigste im Leben – aber nicht in der Psychotherapie?!

Mental health can be substantially impaired by a low partner-relationship quality and nearly all mental disorders are associated with distress. Additionally, couple’s interaction has an impact on parental behavior. Special attention must be paid to family violence. Based on this background, the reciprocity model and the theory of marital stability are described. Detailed suggestions are given for the assessment, treatment planning and couple-oriented as well as parent-orientated interventions. The suggestions are exemplified with a case vignette. Some legal and ethical standards as well as psychotherapeutic conditions may limit the application of these interventions.     

Evidenzbasierte Psychotherapie der Depression

Depressive disorders are among the most frequent reasons for utilizing the health care system. Despite the availability of efficacious treatments and further advances throughout the last years, there is still a need for improving diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. A promising approach is the implementation of evidence- and consensus-based guidelines. The German “Nationale VersorgungsLeitlinie Unipolare Depression” are evidence- and consensus-based clinical practise guidelines for patients with unipolar depression. All relevant stakeholders have been involved in its development and have passed the final version at the end of 2009 to foster compliance throughout. The available evidence allows the derivation of differentiated treatment recommendations, also with regard to concomitant antidepressant medication or as alternative treatment options. In acute therapy watchful waiting over 14 days is recommended for mild depression and psychotherapy after persistence of symptoms. In cases of moderate depression, psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy are equally recommended, in cases of severe depression a combination of both is recommended.     

Facial expressions modulate the ontogenetic trajectory of gaze-following among monkeys

Gaze-following, the tendency to direct one's attention to locations looked at by others, is a crucial aspect of social cognition in human and nonhuman primates. Whereas the development of gaze-following has been intensely studied in human infants, its early ontogeny in nonhuman primates has received little attention. Combining longitudinal and cross-sectional observational data from Barbary macaques at 'La Forêt des Singes', we show here that gaze-following among conspecifics develops within the first year of life with a rapid increase between 5 and 6 months, reaching adult levels at 1 year. Sex, rank, and relatedness of the animal whose gaze the subject followed did not affect gaze-following rates. Interestingly, however, the behavior was enhanced in all age classes if a gaze-cue was accompanied by a facial expression. Furthermore, the effect of facial expressions had a modulatory influence on the ontogenetic trajectory of gaze-following, suggesting that it is of functional significance in the development of the behavior. Follow-up analyses revealed that one specific facial expression that is given in response to social interactions between third parties was particularly efficient in eliciting gaze-following responses, indicating the importance of cues that are able to guide the acquisition of social information. Taken together, these results suggest that the development and the operation of gaze-following are tuned to the social and physical characteristics of a species' environment.