Recall bias in emotional intensity ratings: investigating person-level and event-level predictors

Motivation and Emotion - Individuals’ recall of past emotions is often biased. Previous studies have focused on personality dispositions as predictors of such bias, but not yet on event-level...     

Place‐value understanding in number line estimation predicts future arithmetic performance

In multi‐digit numbers, the value of each digit is determined by its position within the digit string. Children's understanding of this place‐value structure constitutes a building block for later arithmetic skills. We investigated whether a number line estimation task can provide an assessment of place‐value understanding in first grade. We hypothesized that estimating the position of two‐digit numbers requires place‐value understanding. Therefore, we fitted a linear function to children's estimates of two‐digit numbers and considered the resulting slope as a measure of children's place‐value understanding. We observed a significant correlation between this slope and children's performance in a transcoding task known to require place‐value understanding. Additionally, the slope for two‐digit numbers assessed at the beginning of grade 1 predicted children's arithmetic performance at the end of grade 1. These results indicate that the number line estimation task may indeed constitute a valid measure for first‐graders' place‐value understanding. Moreover, these findings are hard to reconcile with the view that number line estimation directly assesses a spatial representation of numbers. Instead, our results suggest that numerical processes involved in performing the task (such as place‐value understanding) may drive the association between number line estimation and arithmetic performance.     

The integration of temporally shifted visual feedback in a synchronization task: The role of perceptual stability in a visuo-proprioceptive conflict situation

The present study examined whether the beneficial role of coherently grouped visual motion structures for performing complex (interlimb) coordination patterns can be generalized to synchronization behavior in a visuo-proprioceptive conflict situation. To achieve this goal, 17 participants had to synchronize a self-moved circle, representing the arm movement, with a visual target signal corresponding to five temporally shifted visual feedback conditions (0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% of the target cycle duration) in three synchronization modes (in-phase, anti-phase, and intermediate). The results showed that the perception of a newly generated perceptual Gestalt between the visual feedback of the arm and the target signal facilitated the synchronization performance in the preferred in-phase synchronization mode in contrast to the less stable anti-phase and intermediate mode. Our findings suggest that the complexity of the synchronization mode defines to what extent the visual and/or proprioceptive information source affects the synchronization performance in the present unimanual synchronization task.     

Does the asymmetry effect inflate the temporal expansion of odd stimuli?

Tse et al. (Percept Psychophys 66:1171–1189, 2004) reported that participants tend to overestimate the duration of an oddball stimulus. The size of this effect was much larger than the one reported by Ulrich et al. (Psychol Res 70:77–87, 2006). More crucially, the effect in the study of Tse et al. already emerged at short standard durations, arguing against the arousal account proposed by Ulrich et al. This study investigated whether the oddball effect reported by Tse et al. was inflated by an asymmetry effect, that is, by an asymmetrical distribution of physical comparison durations around the duration of the standard. Experiment 1 demonstrated that an asymmetry effect could mimic an oddball effect. Therefore, we conducted Experiment 2 to replicate the results by Tse et al. employing not only their original procedure but also an adaptive procedure that rather avoids an asymmetry effect. Both psychophysical procedures in this experiment revealed an oddball effect, which, however, was of smaller size than the one reported by Tse et al. Furthermore, this effect emerged only at longer standard durations, which is in agreement with the arousal account as the underlying mechanism of this robust temporal illusion.     

What do People Want from their Jobs? The Big Five,core self‐evaluations and work motivation

If people are differentially motivated on the basis of individual differences, this implies important practical consequences with respect to staffing decisions and the selection of the right motivational techniques for managers. In two different samples (students facing graduation vs full‐time employees), the relationships between personality traits and the preference for job characteristics concerning either extrinsic (job environment) or intrinsic job features (work itself) were investigated. Two personality traits [openness to experience and core self‐evaluations (CSE)] were consistently found to be positively related to the preference concerning work characteristics, and CSE showed incremental validity with regard to intrinsic work motivation factors (e.g., experienced meaningfulness, autonomy). Furthermore, age was differentially linked to those job characteristics. The results are discussed with regards to the optimal Person–Job Fit and the practical utility of the personality constructs.     

Patientensuizid im psychiatrischen Fachkrankenhaus

Suicide prevention especially with psychiatric inpatients is traditionally a very important aspect of psychiatric treatment. During the 1970s and 1980s there was a noticeable increase in so-called hospital suicides in Germany, especially suicides of schizophrenic inpatients. The number of psychiatric inpatient suicides has currently decreased again and a shift to more depressive suicides has also been observed. Furthermore questions which are asked in court are presented and discussed.     

Sanctity of the Body and the Relational Paradigm

The individual is in constant interaction with others from birth onwards. The primary experience evolves from the innate need for bodily touch and connection, which form the foundation for the psychobiological structure of the individual. The body’s anatomy is made to yearn for another, for building a home with the body of another. This makes the body the focal instrument, which is discernible already in the mother–child relationship, as well as later in male–female or husband–wife relationships. The body thus provides the most sacred space, and deep within it carries a natural yearning for another, for having a relationship with another. Relationships are the means through which the body can come to full realization.     

Assessing Resources in a Population of Hemodialysis Patients: A New Approach to Improve Quality of Care

Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy - Hemodialysis patients constitute a vulnerable population. Their health needs are considerable and they often present psychological symptoms such as...