Cointegration methodology for psychological researchers: An introduction to the analysis of dynamic process systems

Longitudinal data analysis focused on internal characteristics of a single time series has attracted increasing interest among psychologists. The systemic psychological perspective suggests, however, that many long-term phenomena are mutually interconnected, forming a dynamic system. Hence, only multivariate methods can handle such human dynamics appropriately. Unlike the majority of time series methodologies, the cointegration approach allows interdependencies of integrated (i.e., extremely unstable) processes to be modelled. This advantage results from the fact that cointegrated series are connected by stationary long-run equilibrium relationships. Vector error-correction models are frequently used representations of cointegrated systems. They capture both this equilibrium and compensation mechanisms in the case of short-term deviations due to developmental changes. Thus, the past disequilibrium serves as explanatory variable in the dynamic behaviour of current variables. Employing empirical data from cognitive psychology, psychosomatics, and marital interaction research, this paper describes how to apply cointegration methods to dynamic process systems and how to interpret the parameters under investigation from a psychological perspective.     

Exploring the Relationship between Differentiation of Self and Religious Questing in Students from Two Faith-based Colleges

The current study examined the relationship between two developmental constructs: differentiation of self (DoS) and religious quest (Quest). A sample of 233 tertiary students from two Christian faith-based education institutions in Australia completed the Quest Scale and the Differentiation of Self Inventory-Revised (DSI-R). Results revealed that DoS was not predictive of Quest when the sample was considered as a whole. However, when participants were categorized into two subgroups based on religious identification and practice, one dimension of DoS, emotional reactivity, was found to significantly predict Quest, in particular existential questioning, in the more highly religious group. Further, a second dimension of DoS, I-position, significantly predicted Quest, especially involving perception of religious doubt as positive, for individuals low in religiosity. Practice implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Superstars “like” me: The effect of role model similarity on performance under threat

Past work has shown that in‐group role models buffer stereotyped targets from stereotype threat. What is less clear is what makes an effective in‐group role model. Accordingly, we conducted a study to examine whether increasing the similarity of in‐group role models will enhance their effectiveness in stereotype threat situations. Female participants in this study were either exposed to a more or less similar (on the basis of school affiliation, life experiences, and interests) female job candidate who was either high or low in math competence. Afterwards, participants took a math exam under stereotype threat conditions. Results revealed that similarity moderated the effect of job candidate math competence: Female participants' math performance improved more after exposure to a more similar compared with a less similar, high math‐competent candidate. No effects of similarity occurred for the low math‐competent candidates. We further found that feelings of intimidation partially mediated the performance effects. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Measuring the speed of recognising facially expressed emotions

Faces provide identity- and emotion-related information-basic cues for mastering social interactions. Traditional models of face recognition suggest that following a very first initial stage the processing streams for facial identity and expression depart. In the present study we extended our previous multivariate investigations of face identity processing abilities to the speed of recognising facially expressed emotions. Analyses are based on a sample of N=151 young adults. First, we established a measurement model with a higher order factor for the speed of recognising facially expressed emotions (SRE). This model has acceptable fit without specifying emotion-specific relations between indicators. Next, we assessed whether SRE can be reliably distinguished from the speed of recognising facial identity (SRI) and found latent factors for SRE and SRI to be perfectly correlated. In contrast, SRE and SRI were both only moderately related to a latent factor for the speed of recognising non-face stimuli (SRNF). We conclude that the processing of facial stimuli-and not the processing of facially expressed basic emotions-is the critical component of SRE. These findings are at variance with suggestions of separate routes for processing facial identity and emotional facial expressions and suggest much more communality between these streams as far as the aspect of processing speed is concerned.     

Implicit word learning benefits from semantic richness: electrophysiological and behavioral evidence

Words differ considerably in the amount of associated semantic information. Despite the crucial role of meaning in language, it is still unclear whether and how this variability modulates language learning. Here, we provide initial evidence demonstrating that implicit learning in repetition priming is influenced by the amount of semantic features associated with a given word. Electroencephalographic recordings were obtained while participants performed a visual lexical decision task; the complete stimulus set was repeated once. Repetition priming effects on performance accuracy and the N400 component of the event-related brain potential were enhanced for words with many semantic features. These findings suggest a novel and important impact of the richness of semantic representations on learning and plasticity within the lexical-conceptual system; they are discussed in their relevance for assumptions concerning basic mechanisms underlying word learning.     

Independence of data-driven and conceptually driven priming: the case of person recognition

A central tenet of current memory theories is the independence of data-driven and conceptually driven priming. Although these types of repetition priming have different functional properties, it has remained unclear whether they are independent and additive or interact with each other. Therefore, we orthogonally combined these priming types in two experiments requiring occupation judgments for celebrities, represented by their faces or names. In both experiments, the sum of the effects of separate data-driven priming and conceptually driven priming equaled the effect of the combination of these priming types. These findings demonstrate for the first time the independence of data-driven and conceptually driven priming and so confirm a central tenet of current memory theories. This independence may thus be an important element for the development of future overarching memory theories.     

Politische und soziale Verantwortung von Psychotherapeuten

Psychotherapists should always continuously remind themselves what role they and/or representatives of their discipline played and still play in various political contexts. Under these aspects the following general categories can be suitable for orientation: 1) general political participation, 2) application of specific psychotherapeutic perspectives for understanding of cultural, social and political processes and 3) development of possible activity perspectives from a psychotherapeutic viewpoint. The psychotherapeutic view of social processes and the possible resulting activity perspectives are a consequence of observation of the interplay between exactly these social processes and their deposition in the individual.