Rhythmic finger tapping to cosine-wave modulated metronome sequences: Evidence of subliminal entrainment

Rhythmic finger tapping was examined during synchronization to metronome sequences whose base intervals were slightly perturbed by a cosine-wave function with the period of four samples. Data were collected under perturbation levels of 1%, 3%, 5% and 7% in conjunction with base intervals of 400, 500, and 600 ms. Statistical analysis examined the relationship between the inter-response interval (IRI), inter-stimulus interval (ISI) and synchronization error (SE). It was observed that IRI and SE entrain to the periodicity of the ISI patterns even at perturbation levels close to and below the conscious auditory perception threshold. Furthermore, the similarity between the IRI and ISI increased in proportion to the perturbation level. It was also found that the relative perturbation level had more influence on the synchronization behavior than the absolute level. Finally, the observed rhythmic tracking data were modeled mathematically to examine the likelihood of three possible synchronization strategies.PsycINFO classification: 2330     

Orpheus and Eurydice: a creative agony

The archaic story of the Thracian musician Orpheus and his bride Eurydice is heard first as an ancient myth of marriage and death, wedding and separation. The mixture of expectation and dread in its sentiments is sounded still today in the contemporary wedding songs and funeral laments of the Mediterranean and the Balkans. Similar sequences of engagement and withdrawal, ascent and descent, change and metamorphosis are found in the adventures and vicissitudes of other mythic figures. Its premise of the soul's transmigration and its promise of psychic transformation inspired the religious ruminations and philosophic speculation of many centuries. The shifting keys in the songs of Orpheus and the cries of Eurydice score the shocking emotions of epiphanal moments, the creative 'agon', and a depth psychological passage. With its crescendos and denouements, the Orpheus/Eurydice phenomenon suggests the range of experience as one both engages reality and reaches toward meaning.     

Peer teaching: Students teaching students to increase academic performance

Peer teaching among students has a powerful role in the learning process and has been studied and recognized as an effective teaching method. Research on peer teaching applied in different contexts has shown that learning through the process of teaching others increases students' academic performance. In Indonesia, some research on peer teaching has been conducted, but there has been no research on peer teaching in the context of theological studies. Hence, this empirical study aims to verify whether peer teaching is effective when applied in a theological school setting. In this study, students of a homiletics course were the research sample. Results show that peer teaching had a positive effect on students' academic performance. However, further research is recommended on the application of peer teaching in other subject areas to confirm the effectiveness of peer teaching in a theological school context.     

Optimal Hierarchical Learning Path Design With Reinforcement Learning

E-learning systems are capable of providing more adaptive and efficient learning experiences for learners than traditional classroom settings. A key component of such systems is the learning policy. The learning policy is an algorithm that designs the learning paths or rather it selects learning materials for learners based on information such as the learners’ current progresses and skills, learning material contents. In this article, the authors address the problem of finding the optimal learning policy. To this end, a model for learners’ hierarchical skills in the E-learning system is first developed. Based on the hierarchical skill model and the classical cognitive diagnosis model, a framework to model various mastery levels related to hierarchical skills is further developed. The optimal learning path in consideration of the hierarchical structure of skills is found by applying a model-free reinforcement learning method, which does not require any assumption about learners’ learning transition processes. The effectiveness of the proposed framework is demonstrated via simulation studies.     

How is Systemic and Constructionist Therapy Change Process Narrated in Retrospective Accounts of Therapy? A Systematic Meta‐synthesis Review

Despite the considerable potential of qualitative approaches for studying the systemic and constructionist therapy process due to shared theoretical and epistemological premises, to date there is lack of a comprehensive qualitative synthesis of how change process is experienced and conceptualized by clients and therapists. To address this evidence gap, we performed a systematic meta‐synthesis review of 30 studies reporting clients’ and therapists’ retrospective narratives of change process across systemic and constructionist models and across a range of client configurations, including individuals, couples, families, and groups. The studies were identified following a systematic search in PsycINFO and MEDLINE resulting in 2,977 articles, which were screened against eligibility criteria. Thematic analysis led to the identification of four main themes: (1) navigating through differences, (2) toward nonpathologizing construction of problems, (3) navigating through power imbalances, and (4) toward new and trusting ways of relating. Findings illustrate the multifaceted aspects of systemic and constructionist change process, the importance for their reflexive appraisal, and the need for further research contributing to the understanding of the challenges inherent in the systemic and constructionist therapeutic context.     

Pluralistic approaches to the study of process and outcome in psychoanalysis. The LAC depression study: a case in point

Approaching process and outcome in psychoanalysis is a topic that touches on ambitious and complex epistemological and methodological issues. As discussed in the first part of the paper, in keeping with challenging epistemic considerations, it would seem appropriate to describe the specificity of psychoanalysis as a specific scientific discipline of the unconscious (spezifische Wissenschaft des Unbewussten, see LIT). Psychoanalysis, over its more than 100-year history, evolved a range of highly advanced research methods for investigating the specific object of its research, namely unconscious conflicts and fantasies. Hence, like many other scientific disciplines, contemporary psychoanalysis comprises a plurality of theories, methods of clinical treatments as well as a plurality of research topics. This position is discussed with reference to a model illustrating different forms of clinical and extra-clinical research in psychoanalysis. A major, ongoing comparative study of outcomes of psychoanalytical and cognitive behavioural, long-term treatments of chronically depressed patients, the so-called LAC-study, serves to illustrate the richness of contemporary research in psychoanalysis.     

Cultural norms and cultural agents in buyer–seller negotiation processes and outcomes

Although a good number of studies have significantly investigated the role of culture in buyer–seller negotiation processes and outcomes, fewer studies have investigated the role of individual negotiators and organizations in shaping the cultural norms that affect negotiation processes and outcomes. Through a multi-case study of buyer–seller negotiations in five organizations that are illustrative of the informal economy of Nigeria, the study unpacks the role of individuals and organizations in shaping the cultural norms that affect the scope and outcomes of negotiation in an emerging market economy. We find that buyers and sellers play the role of inhabiting cultural norms which in turn narrow the scope of the negotiation to price considerations. On the other hand, the templates used by organizations to execute selling activities either maintain or deter the cultural norms that influence negotiation outcomes. Insights from the study extend the literatures on institutional work, culture and negotiation, sales negotiation in emerging markets.     

Applying processing trees in social psychology

Processing tree models offer a powerful research framework by which the contributions of cognitive processes to a task can be separated and quantified. The present article reviews a number of applications of processing tree models in the domain of social psychology in order to illustrate the steps to be taken in developing and validating a given model and applying it to the measurement and comparison of processes across experimental and quasi-experimental conditions. Process dissociation models are discussed as special cases of processing tree models. Crucial assumptions of processing tree models are considered and methods to overcome violations of such assumptions are reviewed. In addition to the application of processing tree models for the analysis of social and cognitive processes, their value is also discussed for the elicitation of truthful responses to socially sensitive questions.     

Inhibiting reactions to emotional versus non‐emotional response cues in schizophrenia: Insights from a motor‐process paradigm

Recent models of schizophrenia suggest deficient use of contextual response cues when confronted with countermanding emotional cues. It is important to clinically validate these models by testing patients diagnosed with schizophrenia on tasks with competing emotional and contextual response determinants. Control and schizophrenia groups completed a novel task that elicited motor responses consistent with, or in opposition to, pre‐potent emotional actions (i.e., approach vs. avoidance). An analogous non‐emotional task was also used to examine cue‐conflict impairment more generally. The groups demonstrated statistically equivalent performance decrements on incongruent versus congruent trials on both tasks. However, within the schizophrenia group, the incongruency effect was significantly greater in the emotional versus non‐emotional task. These data suggest that, while patients with schizophrenia were able to employ contextual response cues to override competing emotional responses, they were slower to resolve emotional versus non‐emotional response conflict. When patients were subdivided according to the presence or absence of disorganized symptoms, this effect was confined to patients with disorganized symptoms.