Friendly fire: Longitudinal effects of exposure to violent video games on aggressive behavior in adolescent friendship dyads

Research on gaming effects has focused on adolescence, a developmental period in which peer relationships become increasingly salient. However, the impact of peers on the effects of violent gaming on adolescents has been understudied. This study examined whether adolescents’ exposure to violent video games predicted their own and their friend's aggression one year later. Among 705 gaming adolescents, 141 dyads were identified based on reciprocated best friend nominations (73.8% male, M_age = 13.98). Actor‐Partner Interdependence Models indicated that adolescent males’ (but not females’) exposure to violent games positively predicted the aggression of their best friend 1 year later. This effect appeared regardless of whether the friends played video games together or not. The study illustrates the importance of peers in the association between violent gaming and aggression.     

Interpreting Survey Questions About Sexual Aggression in Cross-Cultural Research: A Qualitative Study with Young Adults from Nine European Countries

Examining equivalence in the interpretation of survey items on sexual assault by participants from different cultures is an important step toward building a valid international knowledge base about the prevalence of sexual aggression among young adults. Referring to the theoretical framework of contextualism, this study presents qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with 128 young adults from nine EU countries on their understanding of survey items from the Sexual Aggression and Victimization Scale (SAV-S). The measure had previously been used to collect quantitative data on the prevalence of sexual aggression perpetration and victimization in the same countries that had yielded substantial differences in the rates of victimization and perpetration between countries. Based on the methodological approach of a mixed research design, the current study was conducted as a follow-up to the quantitative study with a new sample to explore whether systematic differences in the interpretation of the survey items in the different countries might explain part of the variation in prevalence rates. The interviews showed that participants from the nine countries interpreted the items of the SAV-S in a similar way and as intended by the authors of the scale. Systematic differences between men and women in interpreting the survey items were revealed. Implications of the findings for conducting survey research on sexual aggression across cultures are discussed.     

Psychodynamisches Fallseminar im Masterstudiengang

Stimulated by the discussion about the direct training of psychotherapists, this article presents the concept of a psychodynamic case seminar held by the author in the context of a Master of Science degree in clinical psychology and psychotherapy at the University of Kassel. The seminar was spread over 3 days during which the catalogue of questions on the report to the experts for an application for health insurance was discussed and elaborated on the basis of case examples. To obtain a certificate of performance the students were required to write their own case study at the end of the course. The author outlines the possibilities and limitations of the instruction concerning psychodynamic theories and methods in a university context. In addition, the criticism of the previous training is considered in order to show the necessity for reform.The direct training of psychotherapists opens up an opportunity for retention and further development of psychoanalytically oriented therapies. Particularly because the student’s interest in the seminar was obvious and it is reasonable to expose the students to psychodynamic thinking even at an early stage. At the same time the seminar clearly showed how big the prejudices towards psychoanalytical theories and therapies are. On the one hand there are utopian opinions that a psychotherapy procedure can be quickly learnt and that changes in patients can be achieved in a short time but on the other hand psychotherapeutic methods are devalued because their effectiveness should be doubted for lack of scientific evidence. Reform of the professional training could present the possibility for early prevention of prejudices and to encourage research projects.     

Reducing women’s lack of fit with leadership positions? Effects of the wording of job advertisements

Linguistic forms which refer to individuals impact mental representations of these individuals: When masculine generics are used, women tend to be cognitively underrepresented, whereas feminine–masculine word pairs are associated with a higher cognitive inclusion of women. The present research investigates whether linguistic forms affect women’s perceived lack of fit with leadership positions, which is particularly pronounced for high-status leadership positions. In a hiring-simulation experiment (N = 363), we tested the effects of different linguistic forms used in German-language job advertisements: (1) masculine forms (e.g., Geschäftsführer, ‘CEO, masc.’); (2) masculine forms with (m/f) (e.g., Geschäftsführer (m/w), ‘CEO, masc. (m/f)’); and (3) word pairs (e.g., Geschäftsführerin/Geschäftsführer, ‘CEO, fem./CEO, masc.’). The job ads announced either a high- or low-status leadership position. Results showed that female applicants were perceived to fit less well with the high-status position than male applicants when either the masculine or the masculine form with (m/f) was used––even though they were perceived to be equally competent. However, female and male applicants were perceived as fitting the high-status leadership position similarly well when word pairs were used.     

Benchmarking Treatment Response in Tourette’s Disorder: A Psychometric Evaluation and Signal Detection Analysis of the Parent Tic Questionnaire

This study assessed the psychometric properties of a parent-reported tic severity measure, the Parent Tic Questionnaire (PTQ), and used the scale to establish guidelines for delineating clinically significant tic treatment response. Participants were 126 children ages 9 to 17 who participated in a randomized controlled trial of Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics (CBIT). Tic severity was assessed using the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS), Hopkins Motor/Vocal Tic Scale (HMVTS) and PTQ; positive treatment response was defined by a score of 1 (very much improved) or 2 (much improved) on the Clinical Global Impressions – Improvement (CGI-I) scale. Cronbach’s alpha and intraclass correlations (ICC) assessed internal consistency and test-retest reliability, with correlations evaluating validity. Receiver- and Quality-Receiver Operating Characteristic analyses assessed the efficiency of percent and raw-reduction cutoffs associated with positive treatment response. The PTQ demonstrated good internal consistency (α = 0.80 to 0.86), excellent test-retest reliability (ICC = .84 to .89), good convergent validity with the YGTSS and HM/VTS, and good discriminant validity from hyperactive, obsessive-compulsive, and externalizing (i.e., aggression and rule-breaking) symptoms. A 55% reduction and 10-point decrease in PTQ Total score were optimal for defining positive treatment response. Findings help standardize tic assessment and provide clinicians with greater clarity in determining clinically meaningful tic symptom change during treatment.     

Compatibility between approach/avoidance stimulation and valenced information determines residual attention during the process of encoding

We tested the hypothesis that the activation of the motivational systems of approach or avoidance by body postures and taste influences residual attention during the process of encoding differentially valenced words. In Experiment 1, participants were asked to stand upright or kneel while learning either positive or negative adjectives. To measure participants' differential cognitive capacities, a dual task paradigm was used, including a finger‐dexterity test as a secondary task. We were able to show that participants performed worse on the secondary task compared to a baseline assessed before if there was incompatibility between postures and the valence of the information. In Experiment 2, we replicated the results with bitter and sweet taste instead of body positions. It is our contention that the activation of approach or avoidance systems by bodily states prepares the organism for information of differential valence. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rape myths as neutralizing cognitions: evidence for a causal impact of anti-victim attitudes on men's self-reported likelihood of raping

Men's rape myth acceptance (RMA; prejudiced beliefs that serve to exonerate the rapist and blame the victim) has been shown to correlate positively with self-reported rape proclivity (RP). To explore the causal pathway underlying this correlation, two experiments were conducted in which the relative cognitive accessibility of RMA and RP was varied. Male students were asked to report their RP in the context of a scale assessing attraction toward sexual aggression (Experiment 1) or in response to five realistic date-rape scenarios (Experiment 2), either before or after they filled out a 20-item RMA scale. In both studies, the correlation of RMA and RP was significantly greater in the after than in the before condition, suggesting that the belief in rape myths has a causal influence on men's proclivity to rape. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cholinergic afferents to the locus coeruleus and noradrenergic afferents to the medial septum mediate LTP-reinforcement in the dentate gyrus by stimulation of the amygdala

Transient long-term potentiation (E-LTP) can be transformed into a long-lasting LTP (L-LTP) in the dentate gyrus (DG) by behavioral stimuli with high motivational content. Previous research from our group has identified several brain structures, such as the basolateral amygdala (BLA), the locus coeruleus (LC), the medial septum (MS) and transmitters as noradrenaline (NA) and acetylcholine (ACh) that are involved in these processes. Here we have investigated the functional interplay among brain structures and systems which result in the conversion of a E-LTP into a L-LTP (reinforcement) by stimulation of the BLA (BLA-R). We used topical application of specific drugs into DG, and other targets, while following the time course of LTP induced by stimulation of the perforant pathway (PP) to study their specific contribution to BLA-R. One injection cannula, a recording electrode in the DG and stimulating electrodes in the PP and the BLA were stereotactically implanted one week before electrophysiological experiments. Topical application of atropine or propranolol into the DG blocked BLA-R in both cases, but the effect of propranolol occurred earlier, suggesting a role of NA within the DG during an intermediate stage of LTP maintenance. The injection of lidocaine into the LC abolished BLA-R indicating that the LC is part of the functional neural reinforcing system. The effect on the LC is mediated by cholinergic afferents because application of atropine into the LC produced the same effect. Injection of lidocaine inactivating the MS also abolished BLA-R. This effect was mediated by noradrenergic afferents (probably from the LC) because the application of propranolol into the MS prevented BLA-R. These findings suggest a functional loop for BLA-R involving cholinergic afferents to the LC, a noradrenergic projection from the LC to the DG and the MS, and finally, the cholinergic projection from the MS to the DG.     

Non-tool-using rooks, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Corvus frugilegus</Emphasis>, solve the trap-tube problem

The trap-tube problem is used to assess whether an individual is able to foresee the outcome of its actions. To solve the task, an animal must use a tool to push a piece of food out of a tube, which has a trap along its length. An animal may learn to avoid the trap through a rule based on associative processes, e.g. using the distance of trap or food as a cue, or by understanding relations between cause and effect. This task has been used to test physical cognition in a number of tool-using species, but never a non-tool-user. We developed an experimental design that enabled us to test non-tool-using rooks, Corvus frugilegus. Our modification of the task removed the cognitive requirements of active tool use but still allowed us to test whether rooks can solve the trap-tube problem, and if so how. Additionally, we developed two new control tasks to determine whether rooks were able to transfer knowledge to similar, but novel problems, thus revealing more about the mechanisms involved in solving the task. We found that three out of seven rooks solved the modified trap-tube problem task, showing that the ability to solve the trap-tube problem is not restricted to tool-using animals. We found no evidence that the birds solved the task using an understanding of its causal properties, given that none of the birds passed the novel transfer tasks.     

马普人类发展研究所毕生发展心理研究中心：研究主题和研究活动展示

Paul B. Baltes于1981年在马普人类发展研究所成立的毕生发展心理研究中心已经使毕生发展心理学成为了发展心理学中的一个重要的概念分支。2004年以来,中心已经将研究项目扩展到了发展行为神经科学。中心主要在三个主题上开展研究工作: (1) 研究作为成熟、学习和衰老的交互作用的结果, 毕生的不同发展阶段中人类行为变化的规律: (2) 发展能够整合来自于自身机能、时间序列、以及行为和神经层面分析等领域实证证据的理论和方法体系。(3) 通过探索不同年龄可塑性上的差异寻找发展的机制。中心继续重点关注成人晚期和老年期, 这为理论和实践上的创新提供了独特的机遇。同时, 中心加强了对包括婴儿期和儿童早期在内的个体发展早期阶段的研究。本文报告了来自四项从行为和神经层面分析感觉和认知发展的研究的最新发现。