When goals loom darker: Goal ambivalence moderates the effect of goal proximity on goal-related motivation

This research extends previous work on the self-regulation of goal striving as well as effects of temporal and psychological distance on motivation. Borrowing from classic work on goal gradients and approach-avoidance conflicts, we predicted that the experience of ambivalence toward a personal goal moderates the extent to which feeling or being close to goal attainment affects motivation, such that greater proximity to the goal has a negative effect on motivation at higher levels of experienced goal ambivalence. We find evidence for the hypothesized effect across three studies examining different goals (pursuing a degree, running a half-marathon) with varying operationalizations of goal proximity (self-reported, manipulated, temporal) and motivation (goal commitment, intention strength). These results validate that classic concepts of motivation science such as goal gradients and approach-avoidance conflict are both relevant and applicable to the everyday pursuit of self-set personal goals.     

Perceptions of the Targets and Sources of COVID-19 Threat are Structured by Group Memberships and Responses are Influenced by Identification with Humankind

The purpose of this study was to investigate which social groups are perceived as a threat target and which are perceived as a threat source during the COVID-19 outbreak. In a German sample (N = 1454) we examined perceptions of social groups ranging from those that are psychologically close and smaller (family, friends, neighbors) to those that are more distal and larger (people living in Germany, humankind). We hypothesized that psychologically closer groups would be perceived as less affected by COVID-19 as well as less threatening than more psychologically distal groups. Based on social identity theorizing, we also hypothesized that stronger identification with humankind would change these patterns. Furthermore, we explored how these threat perceptions relate to adherence to COVID-19 health guidelines. In line with our hypotheses, latent random-slope modelling revealed that psychologically distal and larger groups were perceived as more affected by COVID-19 and as more threatening than psychologically closer and smaller groups. Including identification with humankind as a predictor into the threat target model resulted in a steeper increase in threat target perception patterns, whereas identification with humankind did not predict differences in threat source perceptions. Additionally, an increase in threat source perceptions across social groups was associated with more adherence to health guidelines, whereas an increase in threat target perceptions was not. We fully replicated these findings in a subgroup from the original sample (N = 989) four weeks later. We argue that societal recovery from this and other crises will be supported by an inclusive approach informed by a sense of our common identity as human beings.     

How the social-evaluative context modulates processes of cognitive control

Cognitive control enables intelligent systems to select relevant information in the face of distracting information. The aim of the research presented here was to investigate the influence of the social-evaluative context on processes of cognitive control. Female participants had to perform the Erikson flanker task with each trial being preceded by a photograph of an attractive woman or a beautiful landscape. Concurrently, another person (partner or fellow student) either evaluated the attractiveness of the pictures of the women or the beauty of the landscapes. Participants showed increased flanker interference on trials following the presentation of pictures of attractive women, but only, if these were concurrently evaluated by another person. By contrast, in the control conditions (social presence without concurrent picture evaluation, or picture evaluation without social presence) no such effect occurred. That is, the concurrent evaluation task selectively increased distractibility presumably due to the affective reaction to the social-evaluative context.     

Die Ambivalenz mit der Therapieforschung

Due to a presently growing demand for evidence-based medicine different psychotherapeutic methods are facing increasing political pressure to demonstrate their efficacy. The realization of evaluative projects is not only in need of study patients but also of study therapists. Although many psychoanalysts support the general need for research the number of actual participants is rather low. In this paper the motives of psychoanalysts to decide for or against participation in evaluative research were investigated. Guided interviews were conducted with six psychoanalysts working in outpatient practice. The results support the hypothesis that in particular the need for security and protection influence a psychoanalyst willingness by causing either a driving or inhibition force. Both the intraindividual and interindividual areas of the interviews displayed unresolved ambivalences towards participation in psychotherapy research. It was concluded that changes in psychoanalytic training could have the most profound influence on the personal motivation to participate.     

Socially triggered negative affect impairs performance in simple cognitive tasks

The aim of this research was to investigate the influence of a social-evaluative context on simple cognitive tasks. While another person present in the room evaluated photographs of beautiful women or landscapes by beauty/attractiveness, female participants had to perform a combination of digit-categorization and spatial-compatibility task. There, before every trial, one of the women or landscape pictures was presented. Results showed selective performance impairments: the numerical distance effects increased on trials that followed women pictures but only, if another person concurrently evaluated these women pictures. In a second experiment, using the affective priming paradigm, the authors show that female pictures have a more negative connotation when they are concurrently evaluated by another person (social-evaluative context) than when they are not evaluated (neutral context). Together, these results suggest that the social-evaluative context triggers mild negative affective reactions to women pictures which then impair performance in an unrelated task.     

Mentalisierung und chronische Depression

Mentalization has mainly been studied in borderline patients but in this study the capacity for mentalization was investigated in patients suffering from chronic depression. Mentalization was measured with the reflective functioning scale (RFS) in patients with chronic depression (n=20) who started long-term psychoanalytic treatment and the results were compared to healthy controls. The results showed that global RF scores did not differ significantly between patients and controls. However, depressed patients had a lower RF score for depression relevant topics in comparison to the initial individual values. Furthermore, RF appears to be related to general psychological competence but unrelated to clinical parameters [Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and symptom check list (SCL-90)]. Therapeutic outcome as measured with BDI and SCL-90 was not moderated by RF scores at baseline. Correlations between RF and the helping alliance questionnaire (HAQ) indicate that patients with higher RF scores establish a therapeutic alliance more easily than patients with lower RF scores.     

Modular Treatment for Children and Adolescents With Problematic School Absenteeism: Development and Description of a Program in Germany

Problematic school absenteeism is defined as absence from school occurring with a clinical-level mental disorder. It represents a higher-order term for school refusal, school truancy, and the combination thereof and is associated with an increased risk for school dropout, prolonged mental disorders, and unemployment. This article describes the manualized modular treatment of problematic school absenteeism (MT) by a multiprofessional team. The manual was developed to target a broad spectrum of mental disorders characterized by internalizing but also externalizing behavior. The therapeutic focus is on the reintegration into school and on the cognitive behavioral treatment of the mental disorder. The MT is based on a multilevel model of problematic school absenteeism. The treatment is informed by an extensive case-conceptualization and addresses motivational aspects by offering a low-threshold therapeutic design and motivational interviewing. Core interventions are represented in four modules: cognitive behavioral therapy, family counseling, school counseling, and a psychoeducational physical exercise program. A case vignette provides an illustration of the treatment and the specific graduated approach for school reintegration. The current modular approach is discussed in relation to other cognitive-behavioral manuals targeting a broad spectrum of mental disorders or school refusal.