Exemplar similarity and rule application

We report four experiments examining effects of instance similarity on the application of simple explicit rules. We found effects of similarity to illustrative exemplars in error patterns and reaction times. These effects arose even though participants were given perfectly predictive rules, the similarity manipulation depended entirely on rule-irrelevant features, and attention to exemplar similarity was detrimental to task performance. Comparison of results across studies suggests that the effects are mandatory, non-strategic and not subject to conscious control, and as a result, should be pervasive throughout categorization.     

Does your body count? Embodied influences on the preferred counting direction of preschoolers

Many studies confirm that preschoolers from left-to-right reading societies count from left to right, which reflects the cultural direction of their spatial-numerical associations (SNAs). Other factors, not directly related to cultural experience, have not yet been systematically examined as potential determinants of counting direction in preschool children. In this study, we test one such determinant, i.e. whether and how counting direction is related to body-centred reference frames, such as a preferred hand in different spatial-motoric settings. We first asked preschoolers to count spontaneously. Then, we asked them to use a particular hand to count objects presented close to or far away from their bodies. An overall left-to-right counting dominance was replicated, but it was modulated by a counting hand in both tasks: Children preferred to start counting from an object ipsilateral to the hand used. This pattern increased when stimuli were in a position close to the body. We conclude that early counting preferences of preliterate children are embodied. The SNAs which were assessed are not only related to culture but also to situated individual bodily reference frames.     

Aktuelle Entwicklungen in der Psychotherapieausbildung und der Ausbildungsforschung

In the journal Psychotherapeut, issues of psychotherapy training have been repeatedly published during recent years, especially related to discussions about a reform of the current training system. This reform now seems to have been initiated. Besides a historical sketch of the training-related discourse of recent years and a proposal for defining core fields of competence of psychotherapists, this paper summarizes current trends in training research, which seem to be gaining importance within psychotherapy research.     

Testing the Four Main Predictions of the Interpersonal–Psychological Theory of Suicidal Behavior in an Inpatient Sample Admitted Due to Severe Suicidality

This study aimed to evaluate four main predictions of the Interpersonal Psychological Theory of Suicide (IPTS): the importance of perceived burdensomeness (PB), thwarted belongingness (TB), hopelessness (H), and capability for suicide (CS) for (passive/active) suicide ideation, suicide intent and suicide attempts. N = 308 psychiatric inpatients admitted due to severe suicidality (53.6% female: n = 165; age: M = 36.82, SD = 14.30, range: 18–81) completed self-report measures of TB, PB, H, CS and suicide ideation as well as interviews on suicide intent and suicide attempts. TB and PB were associated with (passive/active) suicidal ideation, whereas the three-way interaction PB, TB, and H was not associated with active suicide ideation. Fearlessness about death in conjunction with active suicidal ideation was not associated with suicide intent and the interaction of PB, TB, and CS was neither predictive of recent suicide attempt status nor lifetime number of suicide attempts. Given the cross-sectional nature of the data, conclusions on causality should be handled carefully. The results challenge the theoretical validity of the IPTS and its clinical utility—at least within the methodological limitations of the current study. Yet, findings underscore the importance of PB in understanding suicidality.     

Psychobiological Aspects of Infant Crying

This study addresses the relationship between the amount of infant crying and maternal responsiveness to the infant's facial communicative cues during distress and non-distress situations. From an evolutionary perspective, the interpretation of infant crying as a communicative signal is preferred over its distance-regulating function. This view implies a relation between the amount of infant crying and parameters describing interactional regulation. Maternal responsiveness is operationalized by (a) the contingent reactions in a latency time span which define the intuitive character of parental behaviours (200–800 ms) and by (b) an event-based coding system of maternal inappropriate behaviour. Infant states (crying, fussing, sleeping and waking hours) were assessed by means of diaries kept by the mothers. In two samples (N=10, N=13, respectively), married, middle-class mothers were videotaped in free play situations with their healthy, firstborn children in their family homes. Results show that there is a strong intersituational consistency of maternal behaviour, but context-sensitive components of maternal behaviour could also be found. The contingency of maternal reactions during the free play situation can be regarded as a predictor of the duration of the infant's crying measured by a maternal diary. The whole pattern of the results confirms the regulatory function of infant crying in the context of early caregiver–child interactions.     

Dialectical Behavior Therapy of Anorexia and Bulimia Nervosa Among Adolescents: A Case Series

The aim of this study was to describe a case series of adolescents (mean age = 16.5 years, SD = 1.0) with anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN) who received dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). Twelve outpatients with AN and BN took part in 25 weeks of twice weekly therapy consisting of individual therapy and a skills training group. Family members were involved in the treatment. The patients were compared pre- and posttreatment on behavioral symptoms of AN and BN and symptoms of general psychopathology using standardized instruments (Structured Inventory for Anorectic and Bulimic Syndromes, Eating Disorder Inventory-2, The Symptom Checklist-90-Revised). Posttreatment, significant improvements in behavioral symptoms of eating disorder and symptoms of psychopathology were identified. The application of DBT adapted for the treatment of AN and BN among adolescents was associated with a decrease in behavioral symptoms of eating disorders and symptoms of general psychopathology. However, randomized controlled studies are required to prove the efficacy of this approach.     

A Bayesian approach to the argument from ignorance.

In this paper, we re-examine a classic informal reasoning fallacy, the so-called argumentam ad ignorantiam. We argue that the structure of some versions of this argument parallels examples of inductive reasoning that are widely viewed as unproblematic. Viewed probabilistically, these versions of the argument from ignorance constitute a legitimate form of reasoning; the textbook examples are inductive arguments that are not unsound but simply weak, due to the nature of the premises and conclusions involved. In an experiment, we demonstrated some of the variables affecting the strength of the argument, and conclude with some general considerations towards an empirical theory of argument strength.     

Towards tolerance: Representations of superordinate categories and perceived ingroup prototypicality

According to Mummendey and Wenzel (1999), group members tend to perceive their ingroup, relative to an outgroup, as more prototypical of the superordinate category encompassing both groups. Hence, they tend to regard the outgroup as deviating from the norms of the superordinate category. Factors that inhibit perception of relative ingroup prototypicality should thus promote intergroup tolerance. In two experiments, the representation of the superordinate category was manipulated. Both an undefinable prototype (Experiment 1; N=63) and a complex representation (Experiment 2; N=88) led to a decrease in relative ingroup prototypicality. Dual identification with the ingroup and the superordinate category increased relative ingroup prototypicality, which was negatively correlated with positive attitudes towards the outgroup. The findings supported Mummendey and Wenzel’s assumptions about the conditions that lead to intergroup tolerance.