Coping with terrorism: the impact of increased salience of terrorism on mood and self-efficacy of intrinsically religious and nonreligious people

It was hypothesized that intrinsic religiousness helps to cope with increased salience of terrorism. Intrinsically religious and non-religious participants were told that it is highly probable or highly improbable, respectively, that terrorist attacks will occur in Germany. High probability of terrorism only negatively affected the mood of non-religious participants but not of intrinsically religious participants (Study 1). Using as a realistic context of investigation the terrorist suicide bombings in Istanbul, the authors replicated this finding and shed some light on the underlying psychological processes (Study 2): On the day of the terrorist attacks (high salience of terrorism), non-religious participants experienced less positive emotions and less self-efficacy than did intrinsically religious participants. Two months later (low salience of terrorism), no differences were found between non-religious and intrinsically religious participants with regard to mood and self-efficacy. Mediational analyses suggested that the mood effects were associated with differences in the reported sense of self-efficacy.     

Spreading the blame: The allocation of responsibility amongst multiple agents

How do people assign responsibility to individuals in a group context? Participants played a repeated trial experimental game with three computer players, in which they counted triangles presented in complex diagrams. Three between-subject conditions differed in how the group outcome was computed from the individual players’ answers. After each round, participants assigned responsibility for the outcome to each player. The results showed that participants’ assignments varied between conditions, and were sensitive to the function that translated individual contributions into the group outcome. The predictions of different cognitive models of attribution were tested, and the Structural Model (Chockler & Halpern, 2004) predicted the data best.     

Selective exposure: The impact of framing information search instructions as gains and losses

Previous research has found that people prefer information that supports rather than conflicts with their decisions (selective exposure). In the present paper, we investigated whether selective exposure was influenced by the method of information collection. Based on Prospect Theory we hypothesized that the method of selection (MOS), where simply selected pieces of information are considered, would lead to a higher selective exposure compared to the method of elimination (MOE), where pieces of information are rejected and the remaining pieces of information are considered. In fact, we found that participants collected information more selectively when they were instructed to use the MOS compared to the MOE. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Psychological effects of risk glorification in the media: Towards an integrative view

Media contents that glorify risk-taking (e.g., video games that simulate illegal street racing, TV depictions of dangerous extreme sports or stunts) are becoming increasingly popular. Theory and research suggest that risk glorification is associated with risk-taking among the audience. Until recently the evidence was limited in three ways: First, most studies, being correlational, did not permit clear causal inferences. Second, we did not know the strength of the effect of different types of media and different types of risk-taking outcomes. Third, early research did little to isolate the underlying psychological processes that mediate the pernicious effects of risk glorifying media formats. In order to address these open questions we review the results of an experimental programme of research and the findings of a comprehensive meta-analysis. The main findings are that (a) the risky media contents do indeed have causal force; (b) according to our meta-analysis active participation in risk glorifying media interfaces has a larger effect than passive consumption; (c) psychological processes include the priming of risk-related constructs, effects of risk-positive situational heuristic cues, perceived social norms, personal risk habituation, and changes in the recipient's self-concept. To integrate these findings we propose a theoretical framework derived from broad-range socio-cognitive models. We conclude with a discussion of possible directions for future research.     

How Students Learn to Moderate Group Work: The Role of Enjoyment and Boredom

Fostering oral communication competences constitutes a primary goal of higher education. However, research on the acquisition process is sparse, especially when the role of learning-related emotions is considered. Based on control-value theory, this study therefore investigated the interplay between learning-related boredom and enjoyment and the build-up of moderation competence throughout an university course to foster oral competences. A longitudinal quasi-experimental study with two teaching conditions was conducted. About 160 students were assigned either to a control group (CG: autonomy supportive teaching enriched with basic levels of competence support and relatedness support) or an experimental group (EG: autonomy supportive teaching enriched with high levels of competence support and relatedness support). Perceived moderation competence and emotions were assessed three times (T) by self-report: after completion of the course introduction (T1), half way (T2), and at the end of the course (T3). The students’ behavioral performance during a practical moderation exam was graded at T3. Path analyses revealed differential effects of enjoyment and boredom on students’ perceived moderation competence and their grades over time: an activating, learning-enhancing effect of enjoyment on moderation competence was demonstrated, especially if teachers supported students’ experience of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Boredom, in contrast, had a detrimental effect on the behavioral performance in the practical moderation exam.     

Effects of Consensus Information and Task Demonstrability on Preference-Consistent Information Evaluation and Decision Quality in Group Decision Making

Groups often fail to solve hidden profiles even when all information is exchanged. This is partly due to biased evaluation of information. We examined the effects of consensus information and task demonstrability on preference-consistent information evaluation and decision quality. The results showed that the evaluation of unshared but not shared information was moderated by consensus information and task demonstrability. For unshared information, majority members exhibited a higher evaluation bias favoring preference-consistent information than minority members. Task demonstrability reduced the evaluation bias only when group members received no information about the other members' preferences. Finally, majority members were less likely to solve the hidden profile than minority members, and this was partially mediated by the evaluation bias favoring preference-consistent unshared information.     

Pseudocontingencies derived from categorically organized memory representations

Pseudocontingencies (PCs) allow for inferences about the contingency between two variables X and Y when the conditions for genuine contingency assessment are not met. Even when joint observations X _i and Y _i about the same reference objects i are not available or are detached in time or space, the correlation r(X _i ,Y _i ) is readily inferred from base rates. Inferred correlations are positive (negative) if X and Y base rates are skewed in the same (different) directions. Such PC inferences afford useful proxies for actually existing contingencies. While previous studies have focused on PCs due to environmental base rates, the present research highlights memory organization as a natural source of PC effects. When information about two attributes X and Y is represented in a hierarchically organized categorical memory code, as category-wise base rates p(X) and p(Y), the reconstruction of item-level information from category base rates will naturally produce PC effects. Three experiments support this contention. When the yes base rates of two respondents in four questionnaire subscales (categories) were correlated, recalled and predicted item-level responses were correlated in the same direction, even when the original responses to specific items within categories were correlated in the opposite direction.     

Konflikt- und Strukturachse der Operationalisierten Psychodynamischen Diagnostik des Kindes- und Jugendalters

This paper presents the advantages of a comprehensive Operationalized Psychodynamic Diagnostic in childhood and adolescence (OPD-CA) for subsequent treatment planning. Information about the conflict and structural axes as a function of age, gender, diagnosis and proposed form of treatment (outpatient/inpatient) was analyzed in a group of 116 patients. Independent from the diagnosis, a similar ranking in the importance of conflicts was found. Self-esteem conflicts were more prominent for inpatient children and adolescents and identity conflicts were more prevalent in children and adolescents who were at the start of outpatient therapy. Patients with an indication for inpatient treatment had a significantly lower level in all structural dimensions. This study analyzes the reasons for these findings.     

Perceptual grouping based on temporal structure: Impact of subliminal flicker and visual transients

In two experiments we examined the perceived grouping of grids of equidistant dots, which are rapidly modulated over time so that alternate rows or columns are presented out of phase. In Experiment 1, we report that observers were able to group the grids consistent with the temporal modulation reliably, even at contrasts/frequencies for which flicker was not detectable. Moreover, flicker thresholds decreased with stimulus duration, whilst grouping thresholds did not change. In Experiment 2, we examined the impact of visual transients, by measuring performance when, either a mask or a contrast ramp was presented before and after the stimulus. Performance dropped substantially for both conditions, but remained significantly above chance. The results are discussed in relation to the role of temporal correlations in stimulus modulations and visual transients in grouping.